I remember a statistic not all that long ago that pinned rock county as the third highest county in the state for unemployment. I'm glad to see they are improving, but it's still not an unemployment rate to be proud of. Progress in the right direction will undoubtedly be hindered by GM closing in the very near future...

When your unemployment runs out , you are not even a statistic anymore , just uncounted and jobless

Actually, jtmek, it's the other way around. Those seeking employment are counted regardless of whether they are receiving benefits. They may never have applied or been eligible, or the benefits may have run out. Thus benefit recipients are not an accurate measure. Consider former students seeking employment for the first time as an example of someone who should be counted in the labor force.
.
Anyone who is no longer actively seeking employment (say, a GM worker who took the buyout and decided they could retire early, or start a business) will not be considered unemployed.

Boy is that percentage going to change when GM, Lear, Gilman and the others are included! You do not have to be actively seeking employment to be considered part of the statistic. But I do believe you must be receiving unemployment compensation though.

It is not true that you must "be claiming unemployment benefits" to be considered unemployed - These people are still unemployed when their benefits run out. Check out the information on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm

I am employed and have been employed for about 4 years now and love it here in Janesville...
When the unemployment does sky-rocket when that car factory closes it's doors for good I'll still love it here and still be working with the same comppany and raising my daughter sending her to the same Catholic school...

These rates are sometimes misleading. To be considered "unemployed," you have to: 1) be seeking employment actively, and 2) be claiming unemployment benefits. So, these rates only reflect the number of people who are actually seeking employment, and who report it when filing unemployment insurance claims. If people aren't looking for work and don't file for unemployment benefits, they aren't considered "unemployed." It's screwy, I know, but that's how the government calculates the unemployment rate.

In an economic downturn, unemployment will sometimes drop because people will get discouraged and stop looking for work, or they will run out of unemployment benefits.

Maybe its from unemployed people moving away from Rock county