Unemployment rate still rising
According to the latest numbers from the Department of Labor unemployment topped 10.2% in October, the highest in over 26 years. This was worse than expected.
The pundits have said that the recession is ending and the economy is recovering. They also say that this looks to be a jobless recovery — one that doesn’t create jobs even though the economy is growing. According to Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for New York-based investment firm Miller Tabak & Co., “What we’re seeing is a validation of the idea that a jobless recovery is perfectly on track.” Ultimately this hurts not only the unemployed but the economy as a whole. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of our economy. People without jobs don’t spend money.
According to the numbers we lost another 589,000 jobs in October, about 190,000 more than expected. This swells the number of the unemployed to 15.7 million. This doesn’t include those who are underemployed. If you count the number of people who have quit looking the unemployment figure exceeds 17.5%. Experts see this number rising through the middle of next year.
The conclusion I draw is that the recovery is going to be slow but hiring is going to be even slower. It could be years before those of us who want a job can get a job. For someone who has held a steady job since I was 14 this is incredibly disheartening. Oh well, maybe it is time to revisit “anything for a buck.”
