By Eric V. Eberhardt
The national news would have us believe 10 percent or so are out of work. That is not so, because that”s the number of people on unemployment benefits, not the real picture.
If you are unemployed and your 26-week claim has expired, you are off the records, working or not. Whether you are a farmworker or self-employed, you never did count on the statistics of the state or federal level. What percent are you?
Only if you have filed a claim at a state EDD office, and it was a claim granted, do you count. If your claim expired, you no longer count.
The 10-percent figure is not the real number of unemployed in the United States. It is only the people who are receiving unemployment checks from the states. The retired and disabled don”t count and they are really unemployed.
How many are out of work is anybody”s guess. God only knows how many are really out of work today.
Eric V. Eberhardt
Clearlake Oaks
