That’s not how unemployment numbers work. They (the government) only count the amount of work eligible adults (i.e. 18+, legal/documented persons) who are actively seeking employment It would be silly to include babies and school-aged children in their statistics for employment, heh. But it also leaves out a large number of adults who have simply given up looking for work. I think it also doesn’t include those who have been actively seeking employment longer than a certain amount of time, but I don’t fully recall.
Lots of economists have long criticized it for being way too broad of a stat that isn’t inclusive enough. I remember my macro econ professor in college going in tangents about it and it kind of surprised me how many people it doesn’t include.
Anyway, back to the main point: It isn’t calculating 4% of the entire US population.
That’s not how unemployment numbers work. They (the government) only count the amount of work eligible adults (i.e. 18+, legal/documented persons) who are actively seeking employment It would be silly to include babies and school-aged children in their statistics for employment, heh. But it also leaves out a large number of adults who have simply given up looking for work. I think it also doesn’t include those who have been actively seeking employment longer than a certain amount of time, but I don’t fully recall.
Honestly, the unemployment stat is a pretty weak economic health indicator overall: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0609/what-the-unemployment-rate-doesnt-tell-us.aspx
Lots of economists have long criticized it for being way too broad of a stat that isn’t inclusive enough. I remember my macro econ professor in college going in tangents about it and it kind of surprised me how many people it doesn’t include.
Anyway, back to the main point: It isn’t calculating 4% of the entire US population.