Private sector lost 33k jobs, badly missing expectations of 100k increase

Re:Private sector lost 33k jobs, badly missing expectations ... by pkaye on Wednesday July 02, 2025 @04:26PM (#44448436)

> Workforce participation also can be valuable instead of or in addition to unemployment numbers, since you fall out of the count once unemployment benefits expire.

Unemployment rates are calculated based on surveys. They call many people and ask a series of questions to determine which category they fit into.

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Re:Private sector lost 33k jobs, badly missing expectations ... by sehansen on Thursday July 03, 2025 @10:34AM (#44455487)

Yeah, the relevant definition of unemployed is basically "did you reach out to anyone in any way about a job within the last four weeks?", even asking a friend if their workplace is hiring would count.

And the survey is surprisingly thorough, with around 110,000 individuals surveyed each month. There's a quite good writeup at: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm

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