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I know the official figure of the unemployed collecting benefits and looking for work is roughly 15 million, but has a study been done to determine how many have given up altogether?
There are estimates but no hard data. There aren't ways to measure people who aren't on lists anywhere. Some data estimates that the true number of jobseekers is twice what unemployment data reflects.
Some data doesn't include college graduates because they were never part of the workforce to begin with. Some data doesn't include people who are seeking 'refuge' from the job market by going to grad school or being a stay-at-home parent.
Underemployed persons also dilute the unemployment data. If a stay-at-home mom takes a part-time job to help bolster the family income because her spouse's salary has been cut, state employment numbers reflect a net gain of jobs, despite the fact that there is no net gain in income. The same is true for highly educated and skilled professionals who are working minimum-wage jobs just to keep a roof over their head. On paper their state has added jobs but not in a good way.
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