Unemployment in the US

So the news that the US lost 533,000 jobs in November is obviously significant news but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Unemployment is defined as, "an economic condition marked by the fact that individuals actively seeking jobs remain unhired. Unemployment is expressed as a percentage of the total available labor force. The level of unemployment varies with economic conditions and other circumstances."

The key to this definition is the labor force, which is defined as, "the labor force of a country (or other geographic entity) consists of everyone of working age and below retirement age who are participating workers, that is people actively employed or looking for work. Child labor laws in the United States forbid employing people under 18 in hazardous jobs."

So what is the real number of people who are unemployed?

Read this.