Note: the following has nothing directly to do with ham radio; so, if you
don't want to read it, simply hit your delete key. Otherwise, if you read
it, you might possibly learn something! <smile>
*****
Alan, I am not Howard, but I have conducted considerable research on this
issue of the employment rate as it applies to blind people and people with
disabilities. The unemployment statistic is widely misunderstood. Toward the
objective of giving all of us a more accurate basis of understanding
concerning this topic, I am providing the following information taken from
my research efforts. If we apply the following government definitions and
standards to the blind population, we will very quickly realize that the
true unemployment rate, as defined by the federal government, among blind
people is considerably below the number commonly tossed around and widely
quoted and accepted. -- Ron Milliman, Ph.D.
*********
The Official Definition of Unemployment
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#Content
. People with jobs are employed.
. People who are jobless, looking for jobs, and available for work are
unemployed.
. People who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force.
The basic concepts involved in identifying the employed and unemployed are
quite simple:
. People with jobs are employed.
. People who are jobless, looking for jobs, and available for work are
unemployed.
. People who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force.
most people are quite easily classified. For example:
Elizabeth Lloyd reported to the interviewer that last week she worked 40
hours as a sales manager for the Western Beverage Company.
Steve Hogan lost his job when the local plant of the Chariot Aircraft
Manufacturing Company was closed down. Since then, he has been visiting the
personnel offices of the other factories in the town trying to find a job.
Linda Coleman is a homemaker. Last week, she was occupied with her normal
household chores. She neither held a job nor looked for a job. Her 80-year
old father who lives with her has not worked or looked for work because of a
disability.
Each of these examples is clear cut. Elizabeth is employed; Steve is
unemployed; and Linda and her father are not in the labor force.
Who is counted as employed?
Not all of the wide range of job situations in the American economy fit
neatly into a given category. For example, people are considered employed if
they did any work at all for pay or profit during the survey week. This
includes all part-time and temporary work, as well as regular full-time
year-round employment.
Persons also are counted as employed if they have a job at which they did
not work during the survey week because they were:
. On vacation;
. Ill;
. Experiencing child-care problems;
. Taking care of some other family or personal obligation; . On maternity or
paternity leave; . Involved in an industrial dispute; or . Prevented from
working by bad weather.
These persons are counted among the employed and tabulated separately as
"with a job but not at work," because they have a specific job to which they
will return.
But what about the two following cases? George Lewis is 16 years old, and he
has no job from which he receives any pay or profit. However, George does
help with the regular chores around his father's farm about 20 hours each
week.
Lisa Fox spends most of her time taking care of her home and children, but,
all day Friday and Saturday, she helps in her husband's computer software
store.
Under the Government's definition of employment, both George and Lisa are
considered employed. They fall into a group called "unpaid family workers,"
which
includes any person who worked 15 hours or more in a week without pay in a
family-operated enterprise. Such persons contribute significantly to our
productive effort and are an important part of our labor supply,
particularly in agriculture and retail trade. However, unpaid family workers
who work fewer than
15 hours per week are counted as "not in the labor force."
Who is counted as unemployed?
Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have
actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available
for work.
Actively looking for work may consist of any of the following activities:
. Contacting:
An employer directly or having a job interview; A public or private
employment agency; Friends or relatives; A school or university employment
center; . Sending out resumes or filling out applications; . Placing or
answering advertisements; . Checking union or professional registers; or .
Some other means of active job search.
Passive methods of job search do not result in jobseekers actually
contacting potential employers, and therefore are not acceptable for
classifying persons as unemployed. These would include such things as
attending a job training program or course or merely reading the want ads.
Workers expecting to be recalled from layoff are counted as unemployed,
whether or not they have engaged in a specific job seeking activity. But, in
all other cases, the individual must be actively engaged in some job search
activity and available for work (except for temporary illness).
The questions used in the interviews are carefully designed to elicit the
most accurate picture of each person's labor force activities. Some of the
major questions that determine employment status are: (The capitalized words
are emphasized when read by the interviewers.) 1. Does anyone in this
household have a business or farm? 2. LAST WEEK, did you do ANY work for
(either) pay (or profit)? If the answer to question 1 is "yes" and the
answer to question
2 is "no," the next question is: 3. LAST WEEK, did you do any unpaid work in
the family business or farm? For those who reply "no" to both questions 2
and 3, the next key questions used to determine employment status are: 4.
LAST WEEK, (in addition to the business,) did you have a job either full or
part time? Include any job from which you were temporarily absent. and 5.
LAST WEEK, were you on layoff from a job? and 6. What was the main reason
you were absent from work LAST WEEK? For those who respond "yes" to question
5 about being on layoff, the following questions are asked: 7. Has your
employer given you a date to return to work? and, if "no," 8. Have you been
given any indication that you will be recalled to work within the next 6
months? If the responses to either question 7 or 8 indicate that the person
expects to be recalled from layoff, he/she is counted as unemployed. For
those who were reported as having no job or business from which they were
absent or on layoff, the next question is: 9. Have you been doing anything
to find work during the last
4 weeks? For those who say "yes," the next question is: 10. What are all of
the things you have done to find work during the last 4 weeks? If an active
method of looking for work, such as those listed at the beginning of this
section, is mentioned, the following question is asked: 11. LAST WEEK, could
you have started a job if one had been offered? If there is no reason,
except temporary illness, that the person could not take a job, he/she is
considered to be not only looking but also available for work and is counted
as unemployed.
Some examples of responses that are typically given in interviews and that
may result in a person being classified as unemployed are: 1. Yvonne Bennett
reported that 2 weeks ago she applied for a job as a receptionist at the
Capitol Travel Agency and the Equity Mortgage Lending Company. She is
awaiting the results of her applications. Yvonne is unemployed because she
made a specific effort to find a job within the prior 4 weeks and is
presently available for work. 2. Mrs. Jenkins tells the interviewer that her
daughter Katherine Marie was thinking about looking for work in the prior 4
weeks but knows of no specific efforts she has made. Katherine Marie does
not meet the activity test for unemployment and is, therefore, counted as
"not in the labor force."
3. Paul Flynn has been checking for openings on a bricklayer's union
register for each of the past 3 weeks, but his wife reported that last week
he had the flu and was unable to work because of it. Paul is counted as
unemployed because he took steps to look for work in his trade and would
have been available for work during the survey reference week, except for
his temporary illness.
4. Marcus Green was laid off from the Hotshot Motor Company when the firm
began retooling to produce a new model car. Marcus knows he will be called
back to work as soon as the model changeover is completed, and he also knows
it is unlikely that he would be able to find a job for the period he is laid
off; so, although he is available to work, he is not seeking a job. Marcus
is unemployed because he is waiting to be recalled from layoff. 5. Joan
Howard told the interviewer that she has filed applications with three
companies for summer jobs. However, it is only April and she doesn't wish to
start work until at least June 15, because she is attending school. Although
she has taken specific steps to find a job, Joan is classified as not in the
labor force because she is not currently available for work. From these
definitions and examples, it can be seen that the total unemployment figures
cover more than the number of persons who have lost jobs. It includes
persons who have quit their jobs to look for other employment, workers whose
temporary jobs have ended, persons looking for their first jobs, and
experienced workers looking for jobs after an absence from the labor force
(as, for example, a woman who returns to the labor force after her children
have entered school).
Who is not in the labor force?
Labor force measures are based on the civilian non-institutional population
16 years old and over. Excluded are persons under 16 years of age, all
inmates of institutions and persons on active duty in the Armed Forces. All
other members of the civilian non-institutional population are eligible for
inclusion in the labor force, and those 16 and over who have a job or are
actively looking for one are so classified. The remainder--those who have no
job and are not looking for one--are counted as "not in the labor force."
Many who do not participate in the labor force are going to school or are
retired.
Family
responsibilities keep others out of the labor force. Still others have a
physical or mental disability which prevents them from participating in
labor force activities.
A series of questions is asked each month of persons not in the labor force
to obtain information about their desire for work, the reasons why they had
not looked for work in the last 4 weeks, their prior job search, and their
availability for work. These questions include: 1. Do you currently want a
job, either full or part time? 2. What is the main reason you were not
looking for work during the LAST 4 WEEKS? 3. Did you look for work at any
time during the last 12 months? 4. LAST WEEK, could you have started a job
if one had been offered?
These questions form the basis for estimating the number of persons who are
not in the labor force but who are considered to be "marginally attached" to
it. These are persons without jobs who are not currently looking for work
(and therefore not counted as unemployed), but who nevertheless have
demonstrated some degree of labor force attachment. Specifically, to be
counted as "marginally attached," individuals must indicate that they
currently want a job, have looked for work in the last 12 months (or since
they last worked if they worked within the last 12 months), and are
available for work.
"Discouraged
workers" are a subset of the marginally attached. "Discouraged workers"
report they are not currently looking for work for at least one of 4
reasons: 1)
they believe no job is available to them in their line of work or area, 2)
they had previously been unable to find work, 3) they lack the necessary
schooling, training, skills or experience, or 4) employers think they are
too young or too old, or they face some other type of discrimination.
**********
Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
Retired Professor of Marketing
President: Millitronics, Inc. (millitronics.biz)
President: A3 Business Solutions (a3businesssolutions.com)
President: M&M Properties
President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB.ORG)
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