Which of the following statements correctly describe discouraged workers? (If none of the choices apply, leave all of the checkboxes blank:) Check all that apply.
They are full-time workers who would like to work only part-time.
They are counted as part of the labor force by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
They have given up on looking for a job.
They are employed workers who want to earn higher wages.
The following table contains U.S. employment information from August 2019:
Civilian Population
Employed (Persons)
Unemployed (Persons)
Discouraged (Persons)
(Persons 16 years old and over) 259,432,000
157,878,000
44,000
467,000
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has several measures of joblessness in addition to the official unemployment rate. One alternative is the U-4 measure of labor underutilization, which is calculated as follows:
Unemployed-Discouraged / 100 * Labor Force Discouraged
U-4