Back in the 1970s, the misery index was widely cited. The measure, which was created by economist Arthur Okun, combines the government’s unemployment and inflation rates to give a quick picture of the on-the-ground economy.

Right now, the U.S. misery index is hovering around 8.9 (inflation of 3.9 combined with unemployment of 5%).

That’s not great, but it’s hardly alarming by historical standards. In the 1970s, the index was running near 15%, and it hit a record of 20.6 in 1980.

The real reason that the current misery index looks so tame is because of the way the government measures inflation. There are at least four reasons to find fault with the Consumer Price Index. There are plenty of reasons to find fault with the employment side of the misery index, too. For example, if someone is unemployed but has not looked for work in the last month, they are excluded. Peculiar, isn’t it? Here’s the bottom line: No matter what the statistics say, real people are suffering real hardship right now. Learn more about “The Real Misery Index” right now.

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InvestingInDividends.com

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