What would the unemployment rate be in you counted the long term unemployed? I've heard and read that it might be over 23%

It's really hard to measure.

You can't say it's the total number of working-age American's without jobs. That number is misleading because there are tons of working-age Americans who don't have jobs but are not "unemployed" in the sense of not having a job but wanting one. If you use the working-age standard as many like Rush have tried to do, you get misled. That number factors IN stay-at-home parents/caregivers, early retired, independently wealthy, disabled, etc.. instead of factoring them OUT.

Those people are not really in competition for jobs and would skew the numbers high into the quarter population range that has been asserted by some talking heads.

You can't say it's the total number of people on unemployment because that has run out for some. So you'd be missing them.

You could say that it's the total number of job seekers without jobs, but there is no real way to track that. In addition, that number leaves out people who are under-employed.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942

I think it's at least 20% and the pols are afraid if we had that figure in our heads it would create a panic. But I think it's been this bad before (in my lifetime) a couple times. Just not for as long. What's scary is a whole bunch of jobs ain't coming back. And they keep thinking low interest rates and housing/construction is going to get us out of this mess.

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Would youth looking for their first job be classified as long term unemployed? In any case general youth seems to be having a problem.

12.8 Percent of Young Americans are Unemployed - MarketWatch

Then there is the recent record number of disability claims. Mass fraud is starting to look like a possibility. I would say probability.

Disability Fraud Holds Down Unemployment Rate; Jobless Disability Claims Hit Record $200B in January | HoweStreet.com

Do they go to the long term unemployed column? I'm not sure. Apparently some don't want to count what they call "the disabled". The numbers are rising. Something's up there.

I think it would be a safe bet to say that it's closer to 20% than the 8% Enron accounting we're stuck with these days.....

I'm betting somewhere between 12-14%. But that's just rough trying to account for those that should be in and those that should be out.

__________________
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942