The true numbers of unemployed in the U.S. and Europe are far higher than reported. The current method of measuring unemployment excludes people who aren’t seeking work by their own volition, or who have given up on re-entering the job market. The fact that these people are not counted in the workforce significantly decreases the reported unemployment rate, which is defined as the ratio between the workforce and the general population at working age (usually ages 16-64).
In most countries, even a person who works part time, even an hour a week, is considered employed. There are many other misrepresentations in the current measurements of unemployment, and the majority of those methods tilt the numbers downward. The difference between the reported unemployment and the real one varies among countries, but it would not be an overstatement to say that the actual rates of unemployment are 25%-50% higher than reported.
The contraction of the economic activity due to the global crisis, and the return to balanced economy, are worsening the job crisis. Unemployment is currently a global epidemic expected to keep spreading rapidly, reaching unprecedented proportions. It is a social time bomb whose short fuse has been lit.