The official
U.S. jobless rate slid to an 18-year low of 3.8% in May, but even better the so-called real unemployment rate has fallen more rapidly.
That’s good news for millions of Americans who were on the outside of the labor market looking in. They now have a foot in the door.
The official jobless rate, known as U3, only includes people who don’t have a job but have looked for one in the past month. The result is that millions of Americans who want to work are actually left out of the official figure, potentially making the labor market look healthier than it really is.
By contrast, the “real” unemployment rate also includes part-time employees who want to work full time as well as people who haven’t looked recently but are willing to work. It’s typically a lot higher.
In tough times or the early stages of an economic recovery, the real unemployment rate gets a lot of attention from critics who argue the official rate understates the problem. Technically called the U6, the real unemployment rate tends to run about 4 points higher than the official rate. The gap ballooned to 7 points in late 2009 before beginning to decline.
In May, the real unemployment fell to 7.6% from 7.8%. It’s lower now than it was right before the start of the 2007-2009 recession and it’s at the lowest point since May 2001.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-real-us-unemployment-rate-reached-a-17-year-low-2018-06-01