An alternative measure of unemployment that accounts for wages suggests the U.S. labor market is weaker than it looks.

The economic research firm’s “True Rate of Unemployment” (TRU) seeks to capture the share of workers that the group defines as “functionally unemployed.” This includes not only people who are unemployed and looking for a job, but also those who are involuntarily working part-time and who are earning poverty-level wages, or less than $26,000 annually before taxes.

Functional unemployment across the U.S. has climbed four straight months and stood at 24.9% as of July, although that’s down from 25.2% in December, according to the Ludwig Institute.

  • dubs@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    8·
    13 days ago

    I feel like the lumpen proles ie reserve army of labor are far bigger in numbers than even this number suggests.

    Yup, I’ve not looked into this study, but these numbers are usually pretty heavily doctored to make things look better than they actually are. Good luck to you!