There was no decline at all in the broadest measure of unemployment, known as U-6, which includes millions of folks who work part-time but are seeking full-time jobs.
In proportionate terms, the gap between U-6 and the official rate of unemployment is the widest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking U-6 in 1994.
There has been a huge increase in the share of people qualifying for federal disability benefits, even though greater safety in the workplace should have led to a decline, rather than a rise. Last week's scandal involving disability fraud in New York by 106 offenders, including 80 retired police and firefighters, was a grim reminder of this trend.
The labor-force participation of men age 25 to 54 stood at 88% in December, down from 88.5% in December 2012 -- a half-percentage-point decline that leaves nearly a third of a million prime-age men unaccounted for.
Hard to believe that they have all become stay-at-home dads.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904246304579304610696912206.html?mod=googlenews_barrons
In proportionate terms, the gap between U-6 and the official rate of unemployment is the widest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking U-6 in 1994.
There has been a huge increase in the share of people qualifying for federal disability benefits, even though greater safety in the workplace should have led to a decline, rather than a rise. Last week's scandal involving disability fraud in New York by 106 offenders, including 80 retired police and firefighters, was a grim reminder of this trend.
The labor-force participation of men age 25 to 54 stood at 88% in December, down from 88.5% in December 2012 -- a half-percentage-point decline that leaves nearly a third of a million prime-age men unaccounted for.
Hard to believe that they have all become stay-at-home dads.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904246304579304610696912206.html?mod=googlenews_barrons