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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Did 21 Million People Leave the Work force ....

......or did the Associated Press simply make an error in its report this week. That report claimed the folllowing figure for the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed. I calculated the total work force using the AP numbers:

  • In January 2009, unemployment rate was 7.7% and there were 13, 000,000 unemployed. That equates to a total workforce pool of 168 million [13 million / 7.7% x 100% = 168 million].
  • In December 2009, the unemployment rate was 10.0% and there were 14,700,000 unemployed. That equates to a total workforce of 147 million [14.7 million / 10% x 100% = 147 million].
  • Note the difference in total workforce is 168 million vs. 147 million. Did we lose 21 million people? Or did the AP simply mis-report the numbers?

Here is the link to the AP story. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010808897_apusobamasyearbythenumbers.html

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