Broader rate unemployment goes over 17%

The U.S. jobless rate was rose to 9.9% in April, the first increase in three months, but the government’s broader measure of unemployment ticked up for the third month in a row, rising 0.2 percentage point to 17.1%.


The comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, known as the “U-6″ for its data classification by the Labor Department, accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs.

The media has generally been ignoring the broader, more realistic rate of 17.1% in favor of the 9.9% rate which is only part of the story but puts the Obama administration in a more favorable light.

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