U.S. jobless rate misses "hidden" unemployed

U.S. jobless rate misses "hidden" unemployed

Mon Jun 14, 2004 09:57 AM ET

By Victoria Thieberger

NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - Buried inside the official U.S. employment report each month is a little-known figure that gives a much less rosy picture of the labor market than the headlines.

The government agency that produces the data also publishes an alternative measure that tries to capture the hidden unemployed, those who are not included in the official unemployment rate for various statistical reasons.

That broader measure is dramatically higher, at 9.7 percent in May, compared with the official level of 5.6 percent.

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