Quick Note on Unemployment

In a downturn, unemployment rates are an indicator of how bad the economy is performing. Side note: in a steady state unemployment rates reflect national labor and tax policies (among other things).

So, when looking at the numbers tallied by BoL, remember that the major category of job loss nationwide is in construction and industries related to home repair and sales. Included under that umbrella are a lot of positions that had previously been held by undocumented laborers who were paid under the table or through other shifty means. Needless to say, those workers aren't in line to get state and federal benefits (which is good, I guess, from a fiscal perspective).

I would hate to speculate just how bad the unemployment rate would be if all who lost their jobs were counted. Would 10% be too high?