Nearly Half of Detroits Working Population is Unemployed

An article in the Detroit News explained that nearly half of Detroit's workers are unemployed. The article is a good lesson on how the government counts unemployment. It shows what the official rate is much lower than the real rate of unemployment. The real rate does not count workers who are working part-time and want full-time work, workers who have stopped looking, workers who have returned to school, early retirees, and corporate buyouts. When added up, all the factors lead to an unemployment rate that is nearly double the reported rate. Detroit's reported rate was 27%, so do the math.