The problem is that they don't count people that can no longer apply for unemployment benefits as unemployed in their numbers. I hate they say people that are no longer claiming unemployment benefits as being people that gave up looking for work. I believe most are people that no longer can claim benefits because they ran out of benefits. There is a ton of long term unemployed people that they called hopelessly unemployed people. The government needs to do something help out those that no longer get benefits that have been out of work for a year or two.
This article below says there are 3 million hopelessly unemployed people that is about 10 percent of the US population. So add 7.8 + 10 = almost 18 percent real unemployment.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/04/news...loyed-workers/