Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well.

For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  The U-3 measure is what is commonly referred to as the official unemployment rate; whereas the U-6 rate is officially (per Bureau of Labor Statistics) defined as:

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Of note, many economic observers use the U-6 rate as a (closer) proxy of the actual unemployment rate rather than that depicted by the U-3 measure.

Here is the U-3 chart, currently showing a 8.3% unemployment rate:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 2-3-12)

-

Here is the U-6 chart, currently showing a 15.1% unemployment rate:

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1344.90 as this post is written

However, even if one chooses to look at the official statistics, the following charts provide an interesting (and disconcerting) long-term perspective of certain aspects of the officially-stated unemployment situation.

The first two charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  Here is the Median Duration of Unemployment (current value = 21.1 weeks) :

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 2-3-12)

-

Here is the chart for Unemployed 27 Weeks and Over (current value =  5.518 million) :

-

Lastly, a chart from the CalculatedRisk.com site, from the February 3 post titled “Graphs:  Unemployment Rate, Participation Rate, Jobs Added.”  This shows the employment situation vs. that of previous recessions, as shown:

-

As depicted by these charts, our unemployment problem is severe.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any “easy” solutions.

In July 2009 I wrote a series of five blog posts titled “Why Aren’t Companies Hiring?”, which discusses various aspects of the topic, many of which lack recognition.

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1344.90 as this post is written

Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well.

For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  The U-3 measure is what is commonly referred to as the official unemployment rate; whereas the U-6 rate is officially (per Bureau of Labor Statistics) defined as:

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Of note, many economic observers use the U-6 rate as a (closer) proxy of the actual unemployment rate rather than that depicted by the U-3 measure.

Here is the U-3 chart, currently showing a 8.5% unemployment rate:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 1-6-12)

-

Here is the U-6 chart, currently showing a 15.2% unemployment rate:

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1277.81 as this post is written

However, even if one chooses to look at the official statistics, the following charts provide an interesting (and disconcerting) long-term perspective of certain aspects of the officially-stated unemployment situation.

The first two charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  Here is the Median Duration of Unemployment (current value = 21 weeks) :

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 1-6-12)

-

Here is the chart for Unemployed 27 Weeks and Over (current value =  5.588 million) :

-

Lastly, a chart from the CalculatedRisk.com site, from the January 6 post titled “December Unemployment Report…”  This shows the employment situation vs. that of previous recessions, as shown:

-

As depicted by these charts, our unemployment problem is severe.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any “easy” solutions.

In July 2009 I wrote a series of five blog posts titled “Why Aren’t Companies Hiring?”, which discusses various aspects of the topic, many of which lack recognition.

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1277.81 as this post is written

Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well.

For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  The U-3 measure is what is commonly referred to as the official unemployment rate; whereas the U-6 rate is officially (per Bureau of Labor Statistics) defined as:

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Of note, many economic observers use the U-6 rate as a (closer) proxy of the actual unemployment rate rather than that depicted by the U-3 measure.

Here is the U-3 chart, currently showing a 8.6% unemployment rate:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 12-2-11)

-

Here is the U-6 chart, currently showing a 15.6% unemployment rate:

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1244.28 as this post is written

However, even if one chooses to look at the official statistics, the following charts provide an interesting (and disconcerting) long-term perspective of certain aspects of the officially-stated unemployment situation.

The first two charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  Here is the Median Duration of Unemployment:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 12-2-11)

-

Here is the chart for Unemployed 27 Weeks and Over:

-

Lastly, a chart from the CalculatedRisk.com site, from the December 2 post titled “November Unemployment Report…”  This shows the employment situation vs. that of previous recessions, as shown:

-

As depicted by these charts, our unemployment problem is severe.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any “easy” solutions.

In July 2009 I wrote a series of five blog posts titled “Why Aren’t Companies Hiring?”, which discusses various aspects of the topic, many of which lack recognition.

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1244.28 as this post is written

Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well.

For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  The U-3 measure is what is commonly referred to as the official unemployment rate; whereas the U-6 rate is officially (per Bureau of Labor Statistics) defined as:

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Of note, many economic observers use the U-6 rate as a (closer) proxy of the actual unemployment rate rather than that depicted by the U-3 measure.

Here is the U-3 chart, currently showing a 9.0% unemployment rate:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 11-4-11)

-

Here is the U-6 chart, currently showing a 16.2% unemployment rate:

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1253.23 as this post is written

However, even if one chooses to look at the official statistics, the following charts provide an interesting (and disconcerting) long-term perspective of certain aspects of the officially-stated unemployment situation.

The first two charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  Here is the Median Duration of Unemployment:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 11-4-11)

-

Here is the chart for Unemployed 27 Weeks and Over:

-

Lastly, a chart from the CalculatedRisk.com site, from the November 4 post titled “October Unemployment Report…”  This shows the employment situation vs. that of previous recessions, as shown:

-

As depicted by these charts, our unemployment problem is severe.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any “easy” solutions.

In July 2009 I wrote a series of five blog posts titled “Why Aren’t Companies Hiring?”, which discusses various aspects of the topic, many of which lack recognition.

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1253.23 as this post is written

Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well.

For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  The U-3 measure is what is commonly referred to as the official unemployment rate; whereas the U-6 rate is officially (per Bureau of Labor Statistics) defined as:

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Of note, many economic observers use the U-6 rate as a (closer) proxy of the actual unemployment rate rather than that depicted by the U-3 measure.

Here is the U-3 chart, showing a 9.1% unemployment rate:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 10-7-11)

-

Here is the U-6 chart, showing a 16.5% unemployment rate:

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1155.46 as this post is written

However, even if one chooses to look at the official statistics, the following charts provide an interesting (and disconcerting) long-term perspective of certain aspects of the officially-stated unemployment situation.

The first two charts are from the St. Louis Fed site.  Here is the Median Duration of Unemployment:

(click on charts to enlarge images)(charts updated as of 10-7-11)

-

Here is the chart for Unemployed 27 Weeks and Over:

-

Lastly, a chart from the CalculatedRisk.com site, from the October 7 post titled “September Unemployment Report…”  This shows the employment situation vs. that of previous recessions, as shown:

-

As depicted by these charts, our unemployment problem is severe.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any “easy” solutions.

In July 2009 I wrote a series of five blog posts titled “Why Aren’t Companies Hiring?”, which discusses various aspects of the topic, many of which lack recognition.

_____

The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1155.46 as this post is written