Why might the official measure of civilian unemployment in the U.S. be an understatement of actual unemployment?
A) Because some workers become discouraged and no longer are actively seeking work. Thus they are not officially counted in the labor force, and consequently are not officially unemployed.
B) Because the official measure of civilian unemployment fails to account for very high levels of unemployment among active-duty military personnel.
C) Because the statistics count part-time employment as being no different from full-time employment, even though many part-time workers would prefer to be fully employed.
D) Both a. and c. above are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The official measure of civilian unemployment in the U.S. may be an understatement of actual unemployment because some workers become discouraged and no longer actively seek work, thus they are not counted in the labor force and are not officially classified as unemployed. Additionally, part-time employment is counted as being no different from full-time employment, even though many part-time workers would prefer to work full-time. Therefore, both a. and c. above are correct.

Why Might the Official Measure of Civilian Unemployment in the U.S