Remember this, from February?:
Just saw Krugman’s comments on reduction in recov act. Question for him. Would no stimulus act be better than one thats 800 B instead of 900
…What happened was a, a lack of conviction, a lack of, you know, if you’re gonna do something like this you’re gonna have a stimulus program you gotta go and do it…This is the kind of situation where you’re trying to build a bridge across an economic chasm. If you build half a bridge it doesn’t work. You have to do the real thing…
This morning, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — SEPTEMBER 2009
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in September (-263,000), and the unemployment rate (9.8 percent) continued to trend up, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today….
And U-6?:
Table A-12. Alternative measures of labor underutilization (Percent)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers (Seasonaly adjusted)
Sept 2009 17.0
[emphasis added]
That’s one in six.
Take a look at this comparison of the percentages of job loss from peak employment.
Now what?