Want to start a heated conversation? Bring up the unemployment rate.
It's the percentage of people in the country who are out of a job. Generally, the higher the unemployment rate, the worse shape the economy is in.
But remember: The unemployment rate doesn't tell the whole story. The government can help create a bunch of temporary or low-paying jobs to raise the employment rate for now, but the quality of those jobs might not be great. After a while of longer-term unemployment, some people will just give up and stop actively looking for work. So the unemployment rate might seem to be less dire, but in fact, there might still be a lot of people in need of jobs out there.