Statician says US joblessness near Depression highs
NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate would be 19.1 percent, close to the level during the Great Depression, using the methodology that prevailed 80 years ago, according to Shadowstats.com.
According to the official Labor Department figures, the jobless rate jumped to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent in February.
However, John Williams, from ShadowStats, argues that measurement changes implemented over the years make it impossible to compare the current unemployment rate with that seen during the Great Depression, when unemployment peaked at 25 percent....