My neighbor swore the unemployment rate was 20% in our county

I pulled the BLS data for Allegheny County after Bob kept saying it was 20% at a block party last month. The actual number for June was 3.8% seasonally adjusted, not even close to what he claimed. He was mixing up the labor force participation rate with the unemployment rate, which is a common mistake. Anyone else have friends or family who confuse different stats like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_roberts10d ago

I mean, "dude just stared at it for 5 minutes" is basically the universal reaction whenever you show someone hard data that doesn't match their gut feeling. It's like watching a screensaver come to life. I've had coworkers swear up and down the unemployment rate is like 15% because their buddy's been out of work for a year, and when you pull up the real numbers they just kind of blink at you like you're speaking Martian. The funny thing is they'll still probably go back to telling people it's 20% next week because the spreadsheet hurt their feelings. Maybe it's just me, but I think some people just enjoy being mad about made up numbers more than they like knowing the truth.

spencer_gonzalez110d ago

Yeah did you show him the actual numbers?

felixm2910d ago

Told @spencer_gonzalez1 my buddy pulled up the spreadsheet and dude just stared at it for 5 minutes.