Understanding how we calculate unempoyment and Oregon's place.

Unemployment rate reporting changes in the US have created some problems in understanding the true nature of the social and economic impact of this very dynamic issue. 

Below is a list of the ways we look at unemployment in this country.

Consider using the U6 calculation which includes the displaced workers who might be delivering pizza instead of running a company.  While the income of such a worker is typically below the ability to support a family, this person would still be considered "employed" under the U3 calculus.  The U3 calculus also does not take into account those no longer looking for work. 

The BLS also calculates 5 alternate measures of unemployment, U1 through U6,^[65] which have been charted over time^[66][67]

• U1: Percentage of labor force unemployed 15 weeks or longer.
• U2: Percentage of labor force who lost jobs or completed temporary work.
• U3: Official unemployment rate per ILO definition.
• U4: U3 + "discouraged workers", or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions make them believe that no work is available for them.
• U5: U4 + other "marginally attached workers", or "loosely attached workers", or those who "would like" and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.
• U6: U5 + Part time workers who want to work full time, but cannot due to economic reasons (underemployment).

Note: "Marginally attached workers" are added to the total labor force for unemployment ratecalculation for U4, U5, and U6. The BLS revised the CPS in 1994 and among the changes the measure representing the official unemployment rate was renamed U3 instead of U5.^[68]
Statistics for the U.S. economy as a whole hide variations among groups. For example, in January 2008 U.S. unemployment rates were 4.4% for adult men, 4.2% for adult women, 4.4% for Caucasians, 6.3% for Hispanics or Latinos (all races), 9.2% for African Americans, 3.2% for Asian Americans, and 18.0% for teenagers.^[61] Also, the U.S. unemployment rate would be at least 2% higher if prisoners and jail inmates were counted (Wiki, 2010).^[69][70]