<P> The major political parties debate appropriate solutions for improving the job creation rate, with liberals arguing for more government spending and conservatives arguing for lower taxes and less regulation . Polls indicate that Americans believe job creation is the most important government priority, with not sending jobs overseas the primary solution . Much of the 2012 Presidential campaign focused on job creation as a first priority, but the fiscal cliff and other fiscal debates took precedence in 2012 and early 2013 . Critics argued prioritizing deficit reduction was misplaced, as there was no immediate fiscal crisis but there was a high level of unemployment, particularly long - term unemployment . </P> <P> Unemployment can be measured in several ways . A person is unemployed if they are jobless but looking for a job and available for work . People who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force . For example, as of December 2015, the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.0% or 7.9 million people, while the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes the part - time underemployed was 9.9% or approximately 16.4 million people . These figures were calculated with a civilian labor force of approximately 157.8 million people, relative to a U.S. population of approximately 323 million people . The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes a monthly "Employment Situation Summary" with key statistics and commentary . </P> <P> In 2014, Williams County, North Dakota had the lowest percentage of unemployed people of any county or census area in the United States, at 1.2 percent, while Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska had the highest, at 23.7 percent . </P> <P> The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has defined the basic employment concepts as follows: </P>

The average worker between ages 18 and 38 in the united states today