People who 'stop looking for work' are no longer counted as 'unemployed.' How do you *stop* looking for work if you need money to survive?

The official unemployment rate calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics excludes people who have not actively sought a job in the preceding four weeks, as they are no longer considered part of the civilian labor force." - from this article

How does that work? You still need money to survive but you've given up looking for work? You can't be on welfare forever - how do those folks survive?