US Unemployment rate demystified:
By Daniel at 31 May, 2009, 10:13 pm
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1933 US population: 92,950,000
1933 US labor force: 51,840,000 (~56% of total population)
1933 Unemployment as a % of the labor force: 24.7%
2009 US population: 306,555,000 (estimated, see link below)
2009 US labor force: 154,731,000 (50.4% of total population)
2009 US labor force employed: 141,007,000
2009 Unemployment as a % of the labor force: 8.9% (or 13,724,000)
Now adjust 2009 labor force to normalize data with 1933. The new labor force should be 56% of the total US population.
Adjusted 2009 US labor force: 171,671,000 (56% of total population)
US labor force employed: 141,007,000
Adjusted Unemployment rate (April 2009): 17.9% (or 30,664,000 people)
Data Sources:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
http://www.U-s-history.com/pages/h1528.html
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/05/0082023
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data
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