Broader Measure of Unemployment Stands at 17.5% (Change Has Come to America)

For all the pain caused by the Great Recession, the job market still was not in as bad shape as it had been during the depths of the early 1980s recession — until now.

With the release of the jobs report on Friday, the broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment tracked by the Labor Department has reached its highest level in decades. If statistics went back so far, the measure would almost certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.

In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous recorded high was 17.1 percent, in December 1982.

This includes the officially unemployed, who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers, who have looked in the past year, as well as millions of part-time workers who want to be working full time.

I was speaking with an obie voter last night. She asked me when I thought things would turn around and when unemployment would go down. I told her things will get worse...the commerical real estate market hasn't hit the skids yet and to expect that to happen after the holidays when retailers start to close locations en masse after another dismal Christmas shopping season. I told her if obie's goons squad manages to force health care mandates and cap'n trade onto the backs of businesses, unemployment will go higher yet.

She told me it isn't fair that the rest of the modern democracies have national health care - we should too. I replied that all of Europe has had a generation of unemployment rates in double digits. Why do you suppose we would we be any different? Plus we have the added disadvantage of paying for the defense of Europe out of the pockets of the American taxpayer.

The positive news is that she told me she thinks obie's advisors are far too young and inexperienced. She thinks Obie is in way over his head in the middle east. (My friend is an Iranian immigrant) She believes talking to the nuts in Iran is a bad idea (I reminded her that is exactly what she voted for- obie promised he would talk to the nut). I told her I don't believe she can expect any belligerant action on our part, but she should thank God the Israeli's will not stand by and watch Armageddon without intervening.

I definitely sensed buyer's remorse.

dim-0s ran in ‘06 promising “CHANGE” and here it is.

Jan ‘07 when dim-0s took over congress, unemployment was 4.4%. It has since “CHANGED” to 10.2%

MISSION ACCOMPLIHED!!!!!!!!!!!

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