2 Answers

Because they would rather pad the numbers to make it appear like unemployment is not as high as it is so that they can claim Obama is cutting the unemployment numbers down. What they do not tell the people is that people who transition off unemployment benefits (use them up) but still do not have a job are no longer counted as unemployed because they are no longer a name on the unemployed list for receiving benefits. They now get listed with the employed because there are only two choices, employed or unemployed and the unemployed are counted for the reason already mentioned. 

Stats are constantly changing. The number of births and deaths, married, not married, divorced, remarried, all on average. Counting employment stats is quite bizarre. From day to day the numbers are constantly shifting and are dependent on what you are looking for. Folks born 65 years ago are retiring, child labor is illegal so under age kids are dependents, and kids who earn money by their own skills or initiative are not represented by law very well. Many parents take their kids earned money and that is where it went. So how much unreported cash is there that's  floating around.  I have lived in that world and there is huge amounts of money...cash and materials that no one bothers to report to our government. Intelligent skills like buying and selling antiques, etc...is far beyond stats and the stats may say "unemployed" but that may or may not be the fact. Hustling is a full time job that many people actually prefer. No stats, unreported, diverse, un-taxed,