The recession is officially over. Still, it doesn't feel that way to those who are out of work, and the percentage of people out of work is now officially over 10%, a figure that hasn't been seen in the United States since the middle of Ronald Reagan's first term as president.
According to an AP article on today's Netscape News:
Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September. August job losses were also revised lower, to 154,000 from 201,000.
Will it be getting better soon? It doesn't look likely. As the article notes:
Friday's report is the first since the government said last week that the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the strongest signal yet that the economy is rebounding. But that isn't fast enough to spur rapid hiring, raising the specter of a jobless recovery.
``You need explosive growth to take the unemployment rate down,'' said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for New York-based investment firm Miller Tabak & Co.
See this link for more.
How do you feel about the official definitions of "recession?" Is it valid to speak of the recession being "over" when job losses continue to rise?
How can the government address the problem? Is the unemployment rate the government's fault in the first place?
Tell us what you think!
Alex
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