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arghhhhh
Semi-random observation on the "jobless numbers" stuff and going back to school.
I know that, for years, economists have said that European (and particularly French) unemployment numbers are misleadingly low because so many of the jobless go to school instead of look for work. I note two differences between that and the "Bobb isn't looking for a factory job because he's taking plumbing courses" example:
1. Most of the european "hidden jobless" students apparently go back to school because the state pays for it, with some decent living stipends, too, which may in some cases be better deals than being on the dole.
2. Most of the european "hidden jobless" students go to school to study academic subjects, they do not get job training/ retraining/ qualification; therefore the additional education adds little to future job skills. (I understand this used to be somewhat different in the UK, where the polytechnics did extensive practical training, but that is less the case there now since the gov't proclaimed all the polys to be "universities" and they have started offering academic/lib arts type courses and watering down their certification/ vocational mandates.)
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
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