Real Unemployment Rate Rose in August to 16.2%

From: CNSnews.com

The real unemployment rate actually rose in August, according to the Department of Labor, belying the fact that the official unemployment rate, 9.1 percent, remained flat while the economy did not create any new jobs on net last month.


According to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real unemployment rose to 16.2 percent in August, up from 16.1 percent in July and tying the 2011 record set in June.

The real unemployment rate is comprised of three different measures of the labor force that more accurately reflect who is really unemployed, as opposed to the official unemployment rate, which merely measures those who told the government they were unemployed and looking for work in the past month.

The real unemployment rate is comprised of the official unemployment rate, those employed part-time because they cannot find full-time work, and those marginally attached to the labor force: people who have stopped looking for work but would return to the labor force if jobs were available.

All told, the total number of Americans who are truly unemployed – those that make up the real unemployment rate – is now 26 million people, according to the Labor Department data.