If you're confused by the regular barrage of statistics about employment and the health of the economy, you're not alone.
Many of the numbers seem to contradict each other.
It was reported, in June, that unemployment ticked up. Yet at the same time, Nevada had the strongest job gains in years.
How could this be?
Economist John Restrepo is with us to clear up some of the confusion.
“There are two different surveys,” Restrepo told KNPR's State of Nevada, “The unemployment rate survey is a survey of households and the jobs survey is a survey of companies or what they call the payroll survey.”
According to Restrepo, the unemployment survey is done by calling and asking people who in their households have a job. If they are not working, but actively looking, they're counted.
However, those who are not looking or are what is known as "forced part-time workers" are counted but not in the same "headline unemployment rate" that is reported once a month.
Restrepo said the combination of unemployed looking for work, unemployed but too discouraged to be looking and those in forced part-time work is called the U6 rate.
“We like it better because it provides a more complete picture of the unemployment situation,” he said.
He said Nevada's is at 13.4 percent, which is much higher than 6.4 percent for June.
However, the rate is dropping at a "slow but steady," Restrepo said.
John Restrepo, principle, RCG Economics/Las Vegas.
