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Originally Posted by Michele
No idea, sorry. But keep in mind that (presumably by design) court life was absurdly expensive, and as I mentioned, royal appointments are probably best described, in GURPS terms, as Independent Income - you have some hireling to do the real work. That means that even if you already have an appointment as Royal Postmaster for the region of origin of your noble family, you might well wish to also become the Royal Appointee for Locks and Canals.
You would also vie for posts that did not bring a direct monetary remuneration, but that would give you influence. For instance, a true wine professional would actually run the court's winery, but there would be a nobleman with a title such as Overseer of the Royal Winery who would be the professional's boss. His job would actually be recommending wines and talking about wines with the King - which meant access to the King, therefore influence.
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Plus, the person who actually provides the wine can then tell other customers that he provides the King's wine and charge them a premium, making up for the fact that the King doesn't actually pay him for the wine.
Re: Unemployment rates, I understand they were fairly high. A lot of people with a title but not much else trying desperately to get some kind of post that pays or gets bribes or otherwise will get them out of hock. They're in debt to their tailors, their grocers, and everyone else who provides for their needs, and only their titles are keeping large men with clubs from discussing their debts in an alley somewhere.