46 | Unemployment Rate
The unemployment rate, as officially measured, is a ratio of the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor force. The labor force is the number of people eligible for work.
Youth unemployment is a big and growing problem
Today on the show — what it means to lose a job right now when the mandate for most of us is: Stay home.
A person is unemployed if he or she is without work and is actively seeking paid work. Knowing the amount of unemployment in an economy would help gauge the overall health of that economy. Human activity in paid work can be one of the biggest resources a country has. The number of employed alone is not so meaningful.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics website explains how the unemployment rate in the United States is measured.
When workers are unemployed, they, their families, and the country as a whole lose. Workers and their families lose wages, and the country loses the goods or services that could have been produced. In addition, the purchasing power of these workers is lost, which can lead to unemployment for yet other workers.
Addressing the issue of unemployment requires information about the extent and nature of the problem. How many people are unemployed? How did they become unemployed? How long have they been unemployed? Are their numbers growing or declining? Are they men or women? Are they young or old? Are they White, or Black, or Asian, or of Hispanic ethnicity? How much education do they have? Are they concentrated in one area of the country more than another? These statistics—together with other economic data—can be used by policymakers to determine whether measures should be taken to influence the future course of the economy or to aid those affected by joblessness.
Today on the show — what it means to lose a job right now when the mandate for most of us is: Stay home.