Better late than never: Gallup decries 'Big Lie' of Obama's 5.6 percent unemployment figure

misstripleem | 4:49 PM on February 03, 2015

The Big Lie: 5.6% #Unemployment – Gallup Opinion http://t.co/ZRucQRuJIU

— GallupNews (@GallupNews) February 3, 2015

The new report from Gallup on the Obama Labor Department’s fuzzy unemployment stats is definitely worth reading and sharing, even if you’ve known about the Big Lie all along.

https://twitter.com/arthurbrooks/status/562709860543102978

Wow. CEO of Gallup rips apart Democratic glee over the 5.6% unemployment rate: http://t.co/ksNzpVsRWJ

— Brandon (@Brand_Allen) February 3, 2015

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this should matter: The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment http://t.co/ABu5i0Rodx

— Michael C. Barnes (@MCBtweets) February 3, 2015

More from the analysis:

Here’s something that many Americans — including some of the smartest and most educated among us — don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.

Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is “down” to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.

None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if you are so hopelessly out of work that you’ve stopped looking over the past four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn’t count you as unemployed. That’s right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news — currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast “falling” unemployment.

There’s another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you’re an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn — you’re not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

Yet another figure of importance that doesn’t get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find — in other words, you are severely underemployed — the government doesn’t count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this.