Wow. Takes my breath away… I think there might be a few different things behind this alarming curve, however these are only my own speculation:
- represents the severity and depth of the current economic slump in the US which has been much more pronounced than previous recessions over the past several decades;
- quite possibly is exasperated by the drag on the traditional work-force mobility in the US — if you own a house have have a mortgage that is “under water” (the situation of 25% of home owners in the US, apparently) you probably have a lot less willingness to sell and move on to another location… so you hang tough in the hopes that your investment in your house will turn positive again and that you can eventually find another job in your current location;
- recognizes the increasingly “broken” process that most people use to find jobs — applying for posted jobs you find on the internet, along with the hundreds (thousands?) of others applying to the same jobs. A huge pool of candidates vying for all jobs drives up both the time it takes companies to trawl through the applicants and make a decision, and also drives up the time it takes an individual to find a job due to the increased competition.
Those are the main stories I think are behind this “headline” news — your thoughts?
