And Here It Is... U6

This is probably the broadest measure of unemployment as far as unemployment's effect on the economy. The way the number is tallied for U6 data (and when you see it you will understand why it's not released) is the closest tally to the way it was counted during the Great Depression. The Great Depression topped out at 25%.

As you can see, U6 for August rose from 16.5 to 16.7-this time last year the numbers were 16.4-16.8 so you can see after a year, we haven't made much progress and the rate is headed higher. These are the kinds of things CNBC won't talk about and the government doesn't want to highlight. The fact is, it shows nearly 1 in 5 people who are unemployed or underemployed and that's important information. Here's where you can find the employment data.