The Real Unemployment Rate is 22.2%

Real Unemployment: One Out of Five in US

Top 25 of 2012

The corporate media wants America to feel secure during a time of unemployment crisis, but people deserve to know what is really happening rather than a statistical lie. The latest unemployment rate released by The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that the unemployment rate has dropped to 9% from 9.4% in January, giving an illusion that our economy is recovering. This false unemployment decrease is partly explained by a “seasonal adjustment,” where many people find temporary jobs during the holidays, therefore factored into the employment rate, but they don’t have job security. Also, after a person has been unemployed for a year, the government doesn’t include them in the statistics anymore, even though they are still unemployed.

According to Shadowstats.com, the real unemployment rate is 22.2%, which is more than double than what corporate media claims. It seems that the government is keeping people in the dark about the real unemployment rate to make people believe that our economy is improving, so that the government is praised for its success in lowering unemployment.

Source:

“9% Unemployment Rate is a Statistical Lie,” Greg Hunter, Information Clearing House, February 7, 2011. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27435.htm

Student Researcher: Ashley Wood, Sonoma State University

Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University