The NYT had an article today on Berlin�s mayor. At one point the article discusses Berlin�s economy, telling readers that it has a 17 percent unemployment rate. It would have been helpful to point out Berlin�s unemployment rate is 17 percent using the official German measure of unemployment. This measure counts anyone who is working less than 15 hours a week, who would like to be working full-time, as being unemployed. In the United States these people are counted as being employed. This difference adds approximately 2 percentage points to Germany�s unemployment. The Times reporters and editors are well aware of this difference in measurement. (I have repeatedly harassed them about it.) It is difficult for me to see why they would report the official German measure instead of attempting to convert it to the U.S. measure, or at least informing readers of the difference. This would be like telling readers that the temperature in Berlin in September averages 20 degrees, without noting that this was using the Centigrade system. Would the NYT consider that good reporting?
--Dean Baker
