A couple mainstream (but still helpful) ways of looking at unemployment are charted in the graphs linked from the post of First Readings below. Unemployment statistics are important in themselves, and they are also a good example of how to look at all types of economic reports. A typical example of a news report is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly report for January, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Unemployment Decline Masks U.S. Labor Force Drop: Economy".
For a first critique, look at Paul Craig Roberts' "Do the Job Numbers Really Add Up?" on Counterpunch. Then follow up with a closer look at the gender inequality involved: Laura Flanders' "From 'Man-cession' to 'Man-covery'", also on Counterpunch.
And then check out the policy debate in Congress: "Effort to Dismantle Unemployment Insurance Revived in Congress as Conference Committee Convenes" from the National Employment Law Project.
And of course the point of all this is to consider how these economic trends and structures shape the environment for political organizing?
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