Very soon. - Cristo

AP: Obama says he's "very, very concerned." The press is going to make a huge deal about this number when it goes into double digits. - Thomas Hawk

You'll overtake Europe, yeah! - Jérôme Flipo

Does anyone know how this employment number calculation compares to in the 30s? In particular, the way unemployment benefits are factored in. I'm guessing true unemployment is much, much higher. - Cristo

rate was 4.8% in Feb last year. - Thomas Hawk

According to what I have read so far, unemployment peaked at 24.9% in 1933. I don't know if the number was calculated the same way as now. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Jérôme, from what I've read the European numbers are calculated differently and aren't comparable - RAPatton

I don't care, Europe wins this one :) - Jérôme Flipo

One way of looking at the numbers: http://delong.typepad.com/sdj... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

John, I believe the numbers were calculated differently. As for the current numbers: just know that if you exhaust your unemployment benefits and take a part time job as a grocery clerk 20hrs a week at $8 an hour because you can't find anything else, you're no longer unemployed. Yay =/ Granted, you'll be counted as 'under employed', but those are not included in the 9.5% figure above. Also not included: people who've stopped looking for work. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

From what I know, Europe has higher unemployment rate but gar less insecure/crappy jobs. - Jérôme Flipo

Soon. Hopefully we will see an uptick soon. - Nation Hahn

In the service industry there is a great rate of insecure/crappy jobs (ie.e greeters at Walmart), which in Europe is referred to as hidden unemployment. These kind of jobs are very limited in number in Europe. If you would take the hidden unemployment into account the US may very well have a 20+% unemployment rate. - Rene Wirtz

Tina, I'm sure you're right about the numbers. I just posted them since Cristo asked. But I don't think the current recession has quite reached the breakdown levels seen in the Great Depression. Of course, that might only be because there are more safeguards now. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Well if we are still losing jobs at a rate of 600,000 a month and we have roughly 300,000,000 population then ~2.5 months - Geoff Schultz

1933 was also 4 years after the stock market initially started its decline John. If Consumer confidence and spending does not kick in in a big way soon we will be on the ropes as the government will not be able to continue to print trillions of dollars without risking an enormous sell off of their existing debt. - Geoff Schultz