
In an Improving Economy, Places in Distress - wallflower
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/24/business/distress-cities-counties.html
======
fiatmoney
This is essentially an evergreen. At the next point in the business cycle, you
get to write the headline "In a collapsing economy, points of light"

------
alexashka
48% of working-age adults in Buffalo are NOT working?

Holy shit, how is this possible? What are they living on and who is supporting
them?

~~~
dreamdu5t
Only ~45% of American adults work 30+ hours per week.

Source: [http://www.gallup.com/poll/166775/payroll-population-rate-
fa...](http://www.gallup.com/poll/166775/payroll-population-rate-falls-
december.aspx)

~~~
alexashka
Can somebody explain how this works? It says unemployment is at 7.4% but only
42.9% work more than 30 hours a week?

So they are employed but part-time? What kind of jobs account for the 57% of
America that work less than 30 hours a week?

This is the first time that I hear of this and I don't understand it at all.

~~~
hga
It's a big issue and one reason you can't compare the current headline U-3
statistic
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment#United_States_Bur...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment#United_States_Bureau_of_Labor_statistics))
with those reported during the Great Depression.

It is, however, the "firmest" statistic, since U4-6 require things like
surveys to estimate how many would be workers are "discouraged" through
"underemployed". And you have to do that to distinguish them from e.g.
voluntary stay at home mothers (and fathers).

~~~
taejo
Don't all these statistics require surveys?

~~~
hga
Ah, you're of course right. As I recall, the surveys for discouraged workers
are harder because they're harder to find.

