Exactly how would you measure unemployment then? Yeah not everyone who is unemployed jump onto grabbing unemployment benefits, but that same individual may only be unemployed for a week or two do you count that person within the unemployment figures? In some cases people in the education field are in essence laid off every summer, for the purposes of them being able to collect unemployment (not usually the teachers and so forth, but the support staff like cafeteria workers) and then they are rehired once school starts back up, should people in these situations be counted? In all honesty if you are unemployed for 15 (or more) weeks, there is a possibility that this person does not want to find a job again (a mom wanting stay home to take care of her children comes to mind) or this person needs to rethink their career choice. It is not feasible or reasonable to check every household for unemployment, and a statistic is only as good as the methodology used to atttain those numbers. I would say using the unemployment figures the way it is currently being done is as close as we are as likely to get.

There will always be a certain level of unemployment. It is innevitable. You've been unemployed at some time in your life and so have I. Usually this is a transition from one place or form of employment to another, and usually it is for the better.