COLUMN: What Salem’s unemployment rate really means

What is an often-misunderstood economic statistic quoted routinely in news stories? It’s the unemployment rate.

The Salem area’s February unemployment rate was 4.1%, and approximately 8,870 people in Marion and Polk counties (the Salem Metropolitan Statistical area, or Salem MSA) were unemployed.

Both the rate and the number of unemployed are estimates, not exact numbers. And, being unemployed has nothing to do with collecting unemployment insurance benefits. There’ll be more on both these points.

What…