[lbo-talk] Regarding the U-6 Unemployment Rate

Patrick Bond pbond at sn.apc.org
Tue Sep 7 16:31:59 PDT 2004


----- Original Message ----- From: "ira glazer" <ira at yanua.com>
> I know this topic has been discussed on this list a number of times
> before, however a basic question remains: why isn't the U-6 number used
> as the official unemployment figure,
> rather than the currently used U-3 number ?

Here in South Africa, the unemployment rate hovers between 28-32%, up from 16% in 1994. But when including people who've given up looking, it's up to 42%. (Women's rates are much higher.) It's yet more diabolical, because for so many people, the survival option means going back to villages and the rural countryside, so far from state employment offices that their ability to look for a job or keep registered as unemployed is greatly strained. But Pretoria still likes using the smaller number, for obvious reasons. During this election year, ANC politicians even claimed that 1.6 million new jobs were created, in spite of the fact that such 'jobs' include 'beg[ging] money or food in public. catch[ing] any fish, prawns, shells, wild animals or other food for sale or family food'.



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