By BIZ INDIA
Washington, June 01, 2012 – The United States’ Bureau of Labor of Labor Statistics reported today that some 69,000 people found jobs in May, and the total number of unemployed people is at 12.72 million.
But the number of people looking for full -time positions who could find only part-time work in the U.S. increased by 282,000, from 2.367 million in April to 2.649 million in May
The labor agency’s count of 12.72 million. does not include the 2.7 million people who were without jobs but were not counted as unemployed by BLS because they had not looked for a job in the four weeks prior to its survey .
Adding these 2.7 million, the number of unemployed people rises to 15.4 million, excluding part-time workers.
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) edged up to 8.098 million in May, an increase of 245,000 from 7.853 million in April. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
US Unemployment Rates - 2012
The 8.098 million part-time employed people were counted by the BLS as fully employed. The agency does not proportionally deduct the lost job hours to calculate the real unemployment rate. Economists have estimated that these part-timers work about half the full work week, so another 4.05 million people should be added to the number of unemployed, to arrive at the correct unemployment rate .
If the part-time employees were working full time, the total number of unemployed people would further increase by 4.05 million. When added to the 15.4 million actual unemployed people, the total number goes to 19.45 million people. As a percent of the 155 million people in the country’s total workforce, U.S.unemployment rate is at 12.5%.
This rate excludes other classes of unemployed people that the BLS does not count. Various economists have pointed out when unemployed people in all sectors of the economy are counted, the real U.S. jobless rate is about 22 percent.
For detailed insights into U.S. unemployment, click on this link:
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts
