Unemployment Remains High

The national unemployment rate remains virtually unchanged at 9.7%.  But the important unemployment figure has been almost universally ignored.  That number is the U6 rate which includes pretty much everyone who has actually STOPPED looking for a job.   That's being reported by Yahoo news as,

"...the real unemployment rate, even by the standards of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is much higher. The U-6 unemployment number, as the real data is called, is at 17.5%, within 0.5% of its all-time high. This figure includes discouraged workers who've stopped looking, marginally attached workers, and workers that are forced to work part-time because full-time jobs are not available."

This is still very very high.  I know because I had a hell of a time finding work.  My wife is still working only part-time.  Her wages barely cover health insurance costs.  We're hoping that in the not too distant future, she'll find something full-time.