BackStory; Looking for Work: A History of Unemployment

From VFA to Radio in Charlottesville, Virginia, this is backstory. For more than a year now, almost one in 10 American workers has been unemployed. Peel apart that number and the situation looks even worse. You see, the government only counts people actively looking for work, a practice that began way back in the 1870s. A directive was sent saying, only count those who really, authentically want to work. Don't count any of these malingerers leaving it up to the subjective judgment of the people doing the counting. I'm Peter Ronov. I'm Ed Ayers, and I'm Brian Ballot. Today on backstory, looking for work. What has it meant for immigrants, for the children of slaves, for vets returning home, when the promise of a better job of a better life, runs up against the harsh realities of our economic system. The history of unemployment in America, coming up on backstory. First, the news.