Unemployment

When workers are unemployed, they, their families, and the country as a whole lose.Workers and their families lose wages, and the country loses the goods or services that could have been produced. In addition, the purchasing power of these workers is lost, which can lead to
unemployment for yet other workers. To know about unemployment—the extent and nature of the problem—requires information.
How many people are unemployed? How did
they become unemployed? How long have they
been unemployed? Are their numbers growing or declining? Are they men or women? Are they
young or old? Are they white or black or of
Hispanic ethnicity? Are they skilled or unskilled?
Are they the sole support of their families, or do
other family members have jobs? Are they more
concentrated in one area of the country than
another? After these statistics are obtained, they
have to be interpreted properly so they can be
used—together with other economic data—by
policymakers in making decisions as to whether
measures should be taken to influence the futur course of the economy or to aid those affected
by joblessness.