From the course: Everyday Statistics, with Eddie Davila

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Unemployment

Unemployment

From the course: Everyday Statistics, with Eddie Davila

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Unemployment

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- [Instructor] Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, publishes employment data. They announce the total jobs lost or gained, as well as the unemployment rate. Statistics plays a role in both calculating the numbers, and interpreting what those numbers might mean. Let's focus on the unemployment rate. Suppose the unemployment rate is announced as 4%, that sounds pretty easy to understand. Four out of every 100 people are out of a job, but let's dig into those numbers just a bit. Let's first consider the denominator. This would be what is called the civilian labor force. It's not representative of the entire population. This includes all working-age people that either want a job or have one. This number does not include children, people in long-term care, people in the military, or those in prison. Of those that are part of the civilian labor force, the people that do not have a job, and are actively looking for a job, they would be counted among the unemployed. They are…

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