The official unemployment rate ticked down in September slightly to 6.7 percent but if you count the number of workers missing from the labor force–those who would be looking for work if employment opportunities were stronger–that rate would be 12.8 percent.
As Patrick Conway, an economist at UNC Chapel Hill, shared in the News & Observer this week, the untold story of the state’s labor market is the story of these missing workers and the inefficiency in the economy that must be addressed when the state does not ensure those who want to work have job opportunities.
Our September update to the number of missing workers in North Carolina demonstrates the failure of the unemployment rate alone to signal this very real problem in the labor market and the need for sound public policy responses
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