And because it was extremely difficult to work, any form produced from it carried the glamour attached to labor-intensive craft and one-of-a-kind rarity.
Unemployment is below 4%, meaning that would-be workers who were more marginally attached to the labor force are more consistently entering the labor market.
One of these telling statistics is the "U-6 unemployment rate," a more expansive measure that counts the "total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force".
There are no seasonally adjusted numbers for the other groups that could conceivably fit into the category — people not in the labor force who say they would like work if they could find it and people classified as "marginally attached" to the labor force.
Meanwhile, the Census Bureau asks additional questions to determine whether people are marginally attached to the labor force.
The underemployment rate, as measured by the Labor Department, includes the unemployed, plus people working part-time for economic reasons and those "marginally attached to the labor force".
That's because they can help parents who want to work stay attached to the labor force, thereby improving their lifetime earning potential, too.
The second is the U-6, which represents the adults who are unemployed, marginally attached to the labor force and employed part-time due to economic reasons.
The bureau also has a broader category of jobless it calls "marginally attached to the labor force," which includes discouraged workers as well as those who have stopped looking because of other reasons, like school, family responsibilities or health issues.
Buried in the monthly jobs report, you'll find what's called the U-6 figure, which includes the unemployed, plus those "marginally attached" to the labor force (that is, they want a job but have largely given up looking), plus those working part-time but who want a full-time job.
Instead, this report looks at employment status for high school graduates who are unemployed, working part-time and "marginally attached to the labor force" (meaning, "those who want a job and have looked for work in the last year but have given up actively seeking work in the last four weeks").
