What recession?

I wrote about this awhile back (see The Silent Unemployment) but it seems to me that our fear of/talk of the recession has quieted, lagged, whatever the word - it's not as vehement as it was a year ago (or 6 months or what have you). I know this is partially because my personal connection to the recession is not as terrifying as it was then either but I still wonder what's going out there. Within my social circle, there are still folks unhappy with their jobs (there always will be) and still folks who are getting paid less than they should/are not being recognized (again...) but I also know people who are getting promoted and are finding new jobs.

What's the real deal folks? Where do we stand?

My short but sweet answer (okay, short but not so sweet) is that we're still knee deep in the sh** of the recession. I'm simply a bundle of cheer, I can't help it.

Boston.com ran an article earlier this week chronicling a recent PEW study that bottom lines it for us - "1 in 5 jobless Americans have been without work for a year or more". The article goes on to answer my follow up question (okay, but where is the level of unemployment settling these days) - "while more experienced Americans are less likely to lose their jobs, once unemployed they face an increasing chance of being out of work longer, the report showed". Super. The report (which clocks in around 22 pages, btw) outlines that long term unemployment (those unemployed for more than 6 months) currently accounts for 44% of our unemployment - highest rate since WW2.

Okay, so there you have it. We are in no way, in the clear. But, to be fair, we have reached the "new normal" that has come out of this Great Recession. The Atlantic ran an article in March (How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America) giving us some optimistic news about how the next decade or so will be affected by what's happened in the last 12-24 months. Sure, our unemployment rate has gotten a bit better lately (it's no longer over 10%) but the theory goes that a higher unemployment rate has settled in for the long haul. Additionally, history has shown us that the long term effects of severe unemployment and recession take awhile to register meaning we still don't know what's going to happen. Hey 2014, how you doing?

And just in case you're determined to stay positive, I've got a chart for ya! This chart from The Consumerist, shows employment declines at the same chronological point during America's last six recessions.


For those of you who are a teensy bit self flagellating, check out the entire Pew report

The Good News? That Atlantic article is 4 pages long and they take the time to outline some of the positives of the human spirit. It's not all gloomy! And I've actually gotta say that I remain positive. I kid about the crushing and overwhelming darkness of this Recession news and unemployment news but I still remain positive about the situation. There are things that need to be fixed (not the least of which is our intense class gaps) but I believe that it will get better. Call me idealistic.