Nomad — there seems to be a bit of confusion even within your link over what constitutes unemployment. As far as my economics courses and several years in Europe led me to understand, no western country counts all those not gainfully employed as part of their unemployment tallies, but just those who show some desire (measures vary by country) to be employed but are not successful. Retirees, housewives, gentlemen of independent means, students with no economic need or desire to work, teens living at home, etc., do not count toward unemployment statistics. That’s why employment rates aren’t given as much importance as unemployment rates — and no, they’re not just inverses of each other! So showing that relatively the same percentage of various groups are employed in both countries is meaningless, if in the US (at textbook statistitcally full employment) those who aren’t employed are statistically not seeking employment, and in France, they’d like jobs.
Miracle Max — mandated minimums, but not government prescribed? By whom do you want them mandated, then? Do you really want a country where they send you home even if you want to keep working? My doctor brother-in-law, on rotation in Italy, was horrified to find that they closed the ER on weekends, because they weren’t allowed to work that many hours per week, and he wasn’t allowed to volunteer to stay. I’d rather not live in that situation!
