Job Losses Dramatic No Matter How You Look At It

Worst year for jobs since '45. And Bush also has 2001 to brag about, too.



To be fair, the civilian labor force today is 40% larger than it was in 1982 and more than twice as large as it was in 1945. Job losses last year amounted to about 1.7% of the labor force, but in 1945 the equivalent number was nearly 5% and in 1982 it was nearly 2%.

You can fight over percentages for dramatic headlines, but when you lose your job it doesn't matter. The bigger story is Bush and modern Republicanism drove this country into the ground.

NOTE:"Factoring in discouraged workers, unemployment is closer to 9.4%," said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland. "Add workers in part-time positions that cannot find full-time employment and the hidden unemployment rate is 14.5%."

Source: Kevin Drum