U.S. unemployment at lowest point since 2010 according to Gallup

According to a recent Gallup poll both unemployment and underemployment has dropped since September with the unadjusted unemployment rate at its lowest point since January of 2010.

Earlier this month the Labor Department released the employment numbers for September which indicated that unemployment had dropped to 7.8%, under 8% for the first time in three years. Though some have questioned the validity of those numbers, a recent poll by Gallup indicates that October may be even better. According to the Gallup mid-month unemployment numbers for October both unemployment and underemployment are down; further, the unadjusted unemployment rate is “at a new low since Gallup began collecting employment data in January 2010.” Considered a good indicator of what the end of month numbers will look like the Gallup poll shows that the unadjusted unemployment rate is at 7.3%. The seasonally adjusted rate – which “incorporates the .04 upward adjustment used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in October of last year” to account for seasonal work – has dropped as well to 7.7%, slightly lower than September and a full percentage point lower than October of 2011. Just as important as those who are unemployed are those who are working part time but looking for full time work. According to Gallup the percentage of people did increase slightly from 8.6% to 9.0%, however they point out this is an expected result of seasonal employment. They also point out that the overall underemployed numbers – which consider the percentage of unemployed as well as those working part time but wanting full time – dropped to 16.3%, also the lowest since the poll began in 2010. Per Gallup: “Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of the Gallup Daily tracking survey Sept. 16-Oct. 15, 2012, with a random sample of 30,000 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling." .