One of the monthly statistics debated by pundits is the unemployment rate.

Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its report, which tells how many people, expressed as a percentage, are unemployed in the United States.  For May 2015, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in April 2015 and down from 6.3 percent in May 2014.

On Tuesday, June 16, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president.  During his speech, Trump talked about unemployment and how he would be a productive job-creator if elected.  At one point, Trump said this about unemployment:

"Our real unemployment is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent. Don't believe the 5.6. Don't believe it."

PolitiFact Florida took a look at Trump's claim and PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Trump's claim rates FALSE.  Gillin says that even being generous with the different statistics available doesn't bring them close to the number Trump cites.

"What we're talking about here is the most recent unemployment estimate from the government," Gillin said.  "To set the record straight, the May 2015 unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, not 5.6 percent.  The number for May was up a tenth of a percentage point from April, but it's down from where it was a year ago."

Gillin points out that there's not just one number that's released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "There's a number that you'll hear about on social media and talk radio called the 'real unemployment rate,' " he said.  "That's a more broad measure of people who aren't working, and that includes people like early retirees or people who are working part-time only.  For May, that number was about 10.8 percent.  That's nowhere near 18 to 20 percent that Trump was citing.  Frankly, there's no way that you could be generous with the numbers and even come close to Trump's statistic."

The numbers don't support Trump's claim, which leads PolitiFact to give his statement a FALSE rating.

 

SOURCES: Real unemployment rate around twenty percent?