U3 numbers are useless.
Try the U6 for a better grasp on true employment, or better yet, look at labor participation rates.
This from the feds as of march 2016:
Numbers of Unemployed, Underemployed, and Those Who Want a Job. As of March, using a 12-month moving average, 1.1 million Californians were estimated to be unemployed, which means they are not working, but have looked for a job recently. Over the last 12 months, on average, 957,000 are estimated to be at work part time for economic reasons, while just over 800,000 were not in the labor force, but wanted a job. These numbers suggest that around 2.9 million Californians are unemployed, underemployed, or wanting a job but not looking for one now.
With 19 million potential workers, that is nearly 1 in 6 underemployed or unemployed.. Yeah, really tearing it up CA.
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