The government reported a 4.5% unemployment rate, but here's the realistic number

[McFurd]

CNBC - 4/7/2017 - Nick Wells - The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in March, according to the Labor Department. But relying on that one headline number as an indicator for the economy as a whole ignores important information just below the surface. Each month on "Jobs Friday," the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a ton of economic data, each point providing its own perspective on the employment situation. Economists look past the official unemployment rate — that 4.5 percent figure, also known as the "U-3" — to other measures of jobs in this country. One of those measures is the U-6 rate, which has a broader definition than the U-3 rate. In March, that figure fell three-tenths of a point to 8.9 percent. Read more @ http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/07/us-repor ... igher.html