Reply #15: Thanks for the link.

[rkc3]

You've got to scroll to near the middle of the report to get to the
U-# reportings. Tables A-7 and A-8 are likely targets.

It looks like the differences between U-5 and U-6 ranged from around 35% to 50% for parts of Clinton's presidency. It would be a stretch to say Bush's numbers are much worse than recent history.

The U-6 numbers list those who are marginally employed for economic reasons - for instance, my wife has to work because my employment can't support both of us. If we saw those numbers well outside historical norms over the past 2-3 years, the economy would be in a sad state.

What would be more difficult to assess is the methodology or the algorithms used to derive unemployment. Let's hope the parameters haven't changed since Bush came to office.