You see, the national unemployment rate is only a measure of percentage of the American work force currently out of a job. It doesn’t take into account the number of individuals who lost their jobs and then decided to drop out of the work force entirely, instead deciding to stay home.

What’s the real unemployment rate when we count said individuals and those who aren’t able to work the number of hours they’d like? Sixteen percent.

WASHINGTON — The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.

“If one considers the people who would like a job but have stopped looking — so-called discouraged workers — and those who are working fewer hours than they want, the unemployment rate would move from the official 9.4 percent to 16 percent, said Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart…

“My forecast for a slow recovery implies a protracted period of high unemployment,” he said, adding that it would be difficult to stimulate jobs through additional public spending.

“Further fiscal stimulus has been mentioned, but the full effects of the first stimulus package are not yet clear, and the concern over adding to the federal deficit and the resulting national debt is warranted,” he said.

And yet the media is insisting that we drop everything we’re doing to sing, “Happy Days Are Here Again,” in praise of The One.