Unemployment "decline" means everyone gave up

Ever wonder why the official numbers always show unemployment only in single digits, even though half the people you know haven't been able to find a job since 1997? Well, this is why.

Officially, the unemployment rate in Kentucky actually dropped from 7.1% to 6.8% between September and October. I know you're baffled that it's down at all. But these numbers are computed by dividing the number of people who get unemployment benefits with the number of employed people plus unemployment benefit recipients.

Workers who are out of a job long enough for their unemployment benefits to run out aren't counted. Nor are those who have realized that they're never going to be able to find a job so they've stopped looking.

And believe me, that does happen. Kentucky doesn't exactly have a lot of jobs waiting to be filled. Most of the ones it has either pay minimum wage or are open only to those with advanced degrees.

Indeed, Kentucky's manufacturing sector lost 4,400 jobs just in October.

An analyst with Kentucky's Office of Employment and Training said, "The decline in the unemployment rate reflects individuals who have faced long-term unemployment becoming discouraged and dropping out of the labor force."

It's pretty sad when everyone knows things are so hopeless that there's no longer any point in trying. But when America has been ruled for 28 years by an ideology built on keeping wages artificially low, who's surprised?

For a really depressing story, imagine if underemployment figures were published in addition to unemployment numbers.

(Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081124/BUSINESS/81124021)