10.4% of Kansas' labor is under-utilized according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 measure. This number includes 156,300 unemployed, marginally attached, or involuntary part-time workers.
(Data was provided to KPI from the BLS via email on 10/29/2012)
The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Casselman explains the U-6:
The official unemployment rate uses a fairly narrow definition of “unemployed,” looking only at people who are actively looking for work. But the Labor Department also publishes a range of other rates using different definitions. The broadest and best known alternate rate, known by its Labor Department designation, U-6, includes people who want to work but aren’t actively looking and also people who are working part-time because they can’t find full-time jobs. As of September, the national U-6 rate stands at 14.7%.
More recently, the Labor Department has begun publishing similar data for states. The numbers are released quarterly on a four-quarter rolling average, so they aren’t as up to date as the state unemployment figures that are released each month. Still, they give a window into state labor markets. |