Unemployment figures have been surging around the world for months on end, with no end in sight. Today, The Economist published a highly edited chart of unemployment figures from a selection of countries. The figures cited are actually not the real figures, but a politically (more) acceptable version of them. The figures can be edited in many ways. The most common of all of the editing techniques is reporting only the number of people receiving unemployment benefits as being unemployed. This is by far the most commonly used statistical figure cited in the media, but this completely disregards people who don’t receive unemployment benefits (i.e. discouraged workers who have given up looking for a job and reporting their employment status), who are underemployed but would like full employment. In the US, the former is referred to as ‘U-3′ and the latter as ‘U-6′. The problem is that the media always cites the ‘U-3′ figure, which of course is much lower and therefore more acceptable.
Shadowstats.com is one place that keeps track of the real figures as shown on the graph below. They also keep track of the real CPI and other economic indicators. I strongly recommend you check it out.

Leaving the statistical editing aside, here are two graphs that should make anyone doubt in the ‘green shoot’ theory. All the talk about fewer people losing their jobs than before is hogwash when compared to the actual statistics, which are mind-boggling. Of course, you need to remember that the unemployment figures used in the charts below have already been played around with. This means that the reality is much worse.

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