>What I'm concerned about is the government stifling innovation such as driverless trucks to retain those jobs...What is the alternative?
More likely the Government comes up with "innovative" ways to hide these people from the official unemployment numbers. Somehow unemployment is calculated at only 4.9% today...add 3.5 million newly unemployed commercial drivers tomorrow (>10% of US total population) and the new unemployment rate = 4.9%.
Unemployment is a very difficult number to define and calculate.
Do you count those that are not actively looking for work, and don't want to look for work? e.g. House(wife|husband)s, semi-retired people.
Do you count those that have given up looking for work?
Do you count those that are working part time, but looking for full time work (i.e. the underemployed)?
Do you count those that aren't really looking for work (for whatever reason), but occasionally look online at job listings (since it's a very low effort thing to do)? This is an interesting one, because Statistics New Zealand just recently decided that this doesn't count as actively seeking work, which seems right to me. I look at online job listings all the time, but am happily employed and not seeking other employment.
Do you count the self employed? Contractors? Are Uber drivers considered employed? What about Airbnb hosts?
>Unemployment is a very difficult number to define and calculate.
That is my point entirely to OP. If the concern is the Gov. is willing to block new technology adoption bc of concerns of mass unemployment, then it isn't unreasonable to think the Gov. would allow the technology and hide some of the unemployment by "redefining" unemployment.
I am not sure why I would be down voted as these moving goal posts are a well known and controversial issue, including, but not limited to the many variables you highlighted.
No. Those that want work are searching, getting interviews, etc.
Those that need work are easier to count because you're counting situations.
The government has enough surveillance on us to accurately count it to a pretty small error margin.
More likely the Government comes up with "innovative" ways to hide these people from the official unemployment numbers. Somehow unemployment is calculated at only 4.9% today...add 3.5 million newly unemployed commercial drivers tomorrow (>10% of US total population) and the new unemployment rate = 4.9%.