Comparing Spain to USA?

[Thomas R]

In Spain the Media talks about 25% unemployment but Spain also has a large underground economy and many of the people officially unemployed receiving benefits are also working in the shadows so they may get $800 in benefits plus earn another $1200 a month underneath the table and this is the lowest members of the society along with having healthcare/dental and other social benefits. If the USA counted it's unemployed in the same manner Spain measures unemployment then our rates would be around 24%. In the States only 33% of the workers who are laid off receive unemployment benefits and those who run out of benefits are no longer counted as unemployed it is not uncommon for 500,000 American Citizens to drop out of the labor force on a monthly basis. Also Spain has a much lower government debt ratio compared to the USA and recently because Spain has had strong exports they now have a trade surplus unlike the United States. Knowing all these things how can one compare economic conditions from one country to another if for example the USA Government hides or does not represent the facts correctly? The Euro Remains a 3rd higher then the US dollar even though they are not as of yet fully federalized which is what the Europeans are negotiating over. In 1971 the US dollar was 4 times higher then the Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc and the German D-Mark(now euro). All of these Currencies are now worth more then the US dollar so what happened to the US economy/society compared to Japan and Continental Europe over the past 40 years? And how can we compare Spain, Europe, Japan or anyone else to the United States if we all don't use the same stats or America uses different measurements or if the measurements like the US dollar depreciation are never mentioned to hide the obvious?

[Art]

America roughly equals Spain plus 25 years. We now have the same form of government as they have, with the same fatal flaws as practiced. Sure hope I'm wrong.

[Naz F]

Unfortunately, people don't measure unemployment accurately. If someone's unemployment benefits have run out, they are STILL counted as unemployed; so long as they are seeking work. But, if a year goes by and you haven't found a job, you become a 'discouraged worker'--It's assumed you are no longer looking for work, so are not counted as unemployed.

Worse, the criteria vary, from country to country. Sometimes, students are counted as unemployed. Sometimes, the time it takes to becomes 'discouraged' is 2 years.

Because of a lack of standards,it makes it very difficult to compare two countries, based on unemployment stats.