Unemployment Hits 8.5% Wow

Times look like they are getting even worse. In December of this year some Americans were sure that this recession and the job losses were going to make a turn for the best. They thought they we must have hit rock bottom and all we have to look forward to is going up in the upcoming months. The other half of Americans were absolutely so uncertain about our economy. Even with the new presidency and the "hope" of people getting their lives back, Americans stand uncertain about whats to come and believe that it might get worse.
According to an article in the New York Times article unemployment went up to 8.5%. In the past month it was 8.1% which is a huge and devastating increase. That means 663,000 people had lost their jobs last month. Professionals predict that this downward spiral will continue well on into 2010. The article then says that they are looking at 25 million Americans are "unemployed" (mean either they have no job, looking for a job, having to work a part time job, etc.) Companies are cutting job salaries and cutting out health benefits left and right to cut cost. Companies are now cutting hours also. The usual work week was 40 hours plus now its down to a 32.5 average work week. Companies cannot afford to be open any more hours of the day than they need to.
On the bright side of things, the stimulus package might bring a little bit of sunshine to a few thousand people's life. With government jobs on the way this might bring the unemployment down below the 8% we are at now.
At the end of the article it goes into detail about who and what type of people still have their jobs and/or are getting hired. This was extremely interesting to me considering I will be a recent college grad in the next month. "Some 14 percent of people between 20 and 24 years old are unemployed, compared with 7.6 percent of people from 25 to 54 years old, or 6.2 percent of people 55 and older."

With that being said, recent college grads have to try their hardest in the working world and put their selves out their to the highest degree.



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/business/economy/04jobs.html?pagewanted=2&hp