Washington ESD unemployment figures - why don't they count people not looking for work?

The official unemployment rate only counts people who are actively looking for work within the past 4 weeks. Your neighbor would be classified as 'discouraged worker' or 'marginally attached to the labor force' - these categories exist but aren't included in the main unemployment rate calculation. It's based on Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology that Washington ESD follows.

this happened to me too, stopped looking after 6 months of getting nowhere. didnt realize i wasnt being counted anymore lol

The reasoning is that unemployment rate is supposed to measure labor market conditions - people actively participating in the job market. If someone stops looking, they're considered to have left the labor force temporarily. Washington ESD uses this to gauge how well the job market is functioning for active job seekers. I had to deal with this when I was helping someone navigate their claim status and couldn't reach Washington ESD by phone for weeks. Eventually found out about Claimyr.com which actually got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works.

This is exactly why I don't trust government statistics! They manipulate the numbers to make things look better than they are. How many people have just given up completely?

I think the logic is that if you're not looking, you're not competing for jobs, so you don't affect the employment market the same way. Like if I decided to go back to school full-time and stopped job searching, I wouldn't be competing with your neighbor who IS actively looking.

been there with the discouragement thing. spent months applying everywhere and getting nothing back. eventually you just stop trying because whats the point?

For Washington ESD specifically, they track several categories: unemployed and actively seeking work (counted in unemployment rate), unemployed but not seeking work for various reasons (discouraged, family responsibilities, school, etc.), and underemployed (working part-time but want full-time). The full picture requires looking at all these numbers together.

Speaking of Washington ESD, has anyone had luck actually getting through to them lately? I've been calling about my weekly claim issues for days and keep getting hung up on or put on hold forever.

This whole thread is eye-opening. I always wondered why the unemployment numbers seemed low compared to how many people I know who are struggling to find work.

so basically if youre not actively job hunting youre invisible to the statistics? thats messed up

I work in workforce development and this comes up a lot. The unemployment rate measures labor market tightness - how hard it is for employers to find workers and workers to find jobs. People not actively searching aren't part of that dynamic at the moment, even though they might return to job searching later.

honestly this explains why politicians can say unemployment is low while so many people are still struggling

Your neighbor might want to consider filing for unemployment benefits even if she's not actively searching right now. Washington ESD has job search requirements, but there might be exceptions or she could get back into searching. Worth calling to ask about her options.

This is why I always look at employment-to-population ratio instead of just unemployment rate. Shows a clearer picture of how many working-age people actually have jobs.

well this has been educational. had no idea unemployment statistics were this complicated

The discouraged worker problem gets worse during recessions when more people give up looking. That's when the gap between official unemployment and real unemployment becomes really obvious.

Thanks everyone for explaining this. I had no idea there were so many different ways to measure unemployment. Makes me want to look up those other statistics to get the full picture of what's really happening.

Just to add - some people cycle in and out of job searching based on personal circumstances, seasonal work availability, or market conditions. The categories aren't permanent labels.

Update: tried Claimyr and actually got through to Washington ESD! Took about 15 minutes total including the wait time. Finally got my weekly claim issue sorted out. Thanks to whoever mentioned it earlier.

This whole discussion shows why it's important to understand what statistics actually measure before drawing conclusions from them. Same applies to a lot of economic indicators.