Measuring the unemployment crisis in the US and the UK
Unemployment in the United States is likely in the 25 percent range with some 40 million Americans having filed for unemployment benefits in the past month. In real terms, it’s almost certainly higher, perhaps significantly, as many people have dropped out of the labor market or their benefits have run out. Like the US, the UK has struggled with its response to the coronavirus. But the official UK unemployment rate is less than four percent. That’s ridiculous, of course. Unofficial figures put it at around 20 percent. As Mark Twain once said, there are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Is that what we’re seeing in the UK? John speaks with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star.