The misery index was initiated by economist Arthur Okun, an adviser to President
Lyndon Johnson in the 1960's. It is simply the unemployment rate added to the
inflation rate. It is assumed that both a higher rate of unemployment and a
worsening of inflation both create economic and social costs for a country. A
combination of rising inflation and more people out of work implies a
deterioration in economic performance and a rise in the misery index.
Our current data was collected from the following sources:
Unemployment Rate figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor -
www.dol.gov
Inflation Rate figures obtained from Financial Trend Forecaster® -
InflationData.com
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