what s more the unemployment rate is calculated based solely on the labor force which does not include persons who are not seeking a job there are many instances in which a person is able to work but has become too discouraged with an unsuccessful job hunt to continue to actively seek a job the labor force participation rate is used to measure the percentage of the civilian population over the age of 16 who is working or seeking work 
the bls compiles six different unemployment rates labeled u 1 through u 6 u 3 is the officially recognized unemployment rate but u 6 is a better representation of the job market as it accounts for discouraged workers who have left the labor force workers who are not utilizing their full skill set and workers who have part time employment but would rather be employed full time 1example of underemploymentfor example an individual with an engineering degree working as a pizza delivery man as his main source of income is considered to be underemployed also an individual who is working part time at an office job but would prefer to instead work full time is considered underemployed in both cases these individuals are underutilized by the economy as they in theory can provide a greater benefit to the overall economy 