It's not entirely clear from the article, but it looks like they're measuring jobless claims in absolute terms, rather than by percentage of population. The population of the U.S. has grown by about 70 million people since 1982.
The actual # of unemployed is most likely higher than the reported #s. They stop counting a person as unemployed after they stop receiving the unemployment checks, no matter if they found a job or ran out of time
I won't refute you on that (someone once posted a article here on HN that discussed this) however the linked article for this thread is specifically about people filing for unemployment for the first time. Thus your point that "They stop counting a person as unemployed after they stop receiving the unemployment checks, no matter if they found a job or ran out of time" doesn't taint the stat of a 26-year high for filings for new claims.
Well, yes and no. This article isn't about unemployment, it's about jobless claims. While jobless claims are tallied the way you describe, unemployment numbers are derived from a monthly poll:
Those numbers also probably understate the problem, but not for the reason you mentioned; the official unemployment numbers do not include people that are underemployed or those that have stopped actively looking for a job.
I guess I will have to start my own business after I finish school instead of trying to squeeze my way on to the corporate ladder.
I'll be honest, I'm not overly worried about unemployment. Good ideas will still be able to take off, and talent that may have previously unavailable to a startup will now be easier to acquire. Unemployment is a huge problem and I feel for everyone I know who has been affected by the recent downturn, but I sincerely believe that it is our job as entrepreneurs to help alleviate this problem.
