Real Unemployment at 13.9%

According to the following press release issued by Americans for Democratic Action, the true unemployment figure for our Nation stands at a staggering 13.9%.  The number is not made up or imaginary, it is an actual statistic released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 

WASHINGTON - The real unemployment rate released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 13.9%, nearly double the official 7.6% rate reported.

The real rate includes marginally attached workers which the BLS reports “are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not looking currently for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.”

The steep increase of 598,000 newly unemployed for January pushed that figure to its highest level since 1974, and underscored the urgency for an aggressive, swift and large enough economic recovery plan to reverse the downward economic trend. Since the recession began in December 2007, a staggering 3.6 million jobs have been lost.

ADA National Director, Amy Isaacs, said, “Enough is enough. Every day that Congress delays passing President Obama’s job creation plan, the economy hemorrhages thousands more jobs. The time for bold action from our elected leaders is now.”