Jared Dillian called unemployment the "laggingest of lagging indicators" yesterday. I'm willing to bet you aren't "unemployed" regularly the way people in the entertainment industry are. I filed for unemployment just last week. By asserting myself as "unemployed" I am certifying that: - I am available for work M-F at least 8 hours a day - I am not in any kind of school - I have not earned a single red cent for an employer or as a freelancer - I have not contracted with any school - I have not contracted with any government - I have not done anything with military reserves - I have not received any funds that were previously owed to me - I have been actively looking for work in a documented fashion and have not been offered any So yeah. If you're "unemployed" you aren't driving for Uber, delivering for TaskRabbit, solving crosswords on Mechanical Turk or even filling out fucking surveys for beer money. I love how everyone's all "unemployment is the lowest it's been in 50 years!" without looking around and going "maybe we're counting wrong."