US unemployment rate actually stands at 14.3 percent

The United States nationwide unemployment rate actually stands at 14.3 percent and not the reported 7.6 percent, an American magazine reports.

Forbes magazine reported on Monday that the true unemployment number must include discouraged workers, the marginally employed, and the workforce most impacted by the 2008 downturn.

Discouraged workers make up about 0.6 percent of the workforce or 800,000 Americans, mainly the young, minorities and those without a high school diploma, while the marginally employed stand at 0.9 percent and have recently stopped looking for a job, the business magazine said.

Forbes further explained that the workforce most affected by the 2008 downturn total 5.1 percent or 8 million people – those who have found only part-time jobs but were looking for full-time positions. They have most trouble paying the bills and likely lack a health plan from their employer.

The true unemployment level including part-time workers means that one in seven potential full-time employees cannot earn a proper living wage, thereby affecting economic growth, the magazine said.

This came as the US Department of Labor said last week that the number of American citizens applying for unemployment benefits hit nearly six million people – the highest level in four months.

Nearly two million middle class clerical jobs were lost since 2007, while creating just 387,000 high wage managerial positions, increasing inequality and polarizing the US labor market, according to Robin Harding, economics editor at the Financial Times.

The US economy shrank by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, casting doubt on the strength of economic recovery in the country.