The Economic Compass Needle

     When an American is unemployed he is counted in the national "Unemployment Rate" which was reported, Friday, April 5th, as 7.6%.  NPR reported that rate along with the proviso that only job-seekers are counted as unemployed.  Those who choose to retire, whether formally or informally, or otherwise give-up on searching for a new job because they are frustrated by a general lack of response, are no longer counted as "unemployed" by the Labor Department.  Does this mean that those people don't count?  No, it just means that they are not included in that primary economic indicator, "the Unemployment Rate", one of the most significant indicators used by economists, and therefore, government officials and the media, to show whether the "Economy" is getting better or getting worse.
     Who cares if the "Economy" is getting better or getting worse?  The answer to this is more complicated than who is counted as unemployed.  In brief, banks, Wall St. traders, stock and bond holders, the government, and much of the mass media sometimes treat the economic direction like that is all that counts.  If the unemployment rate is declining, the economy is improving.  So when the "Unemployment Rate" calculation is adjusted by adding or removing whole groups of unemployed people, like who is looking for a job because they believe they can still find one versus those who are temporarily disheartened, the bean counters are playing with numbers that make a difference to a lot of people.
      This means take heart, fellow unemployed job seekers!  Those times when there is no HR assistant calling you to schedule an interview, nor any recruiter seeking to make money by connecting you to your next position, remember that you are still an important cog in the wheel of the national economy because you are still seeking a job.  You are vital as an economic indicator; monetary gauge to the most respected, influential, and powerful people in the world.