The headline unemployment rate might not be the best measure of jobs 12:22 PM ET Fri, 7 April 2017 | 00:39

The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in March, according to the Labor Department. But relying on that one headline number as an indicator for the economy as a whole ignores important information just below the surface.

Each month on "Jobs Friday," the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a ton of economic data, each point providing its own perspective on the employment situation. Economists look past the official unemployment rate — that 4.5 percent figure, also known as the "U-3" — to other measures of jobs in this country.

One of those measures is the U-6 rate, which has a broader definition than the U-3 rate. In March, that figure fell three-tenths of a point to 8.9 percent.