Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac

Anytime that I see a chart with numbers and statistics, my mind immediately goes to the great quote,

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. — Benjamin Disraeli (popularized by Mark Twain)

This is especially the case when we’re talking about government statistics. Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that unemployment is officially 6.5%. But if you read their full report, you see some different numbers. Specifically in Table A-12:

Line U-6 is most interesting. If you take the “official” rate and add in (1) people who want full time jobs but can only find part time jobs, (2) people who want a job but can’t find up and gave up, and (3) people who aren’t counted because their unemployment benefits ran out, you get 11.8%.

That’s a very different number than the official 6.5%. Makes you wonder what other nuggets we can find if we read the fine print. :-)

(Source: Mish)