Not since 1983, after a double-dip downturn had sent the auto, steel, and housing industries plunging, has the jobless rate gone so high. And many economists predicted it would go higher still.
About 15.7 million workers now have no jobs, the government said in its monthly unemployment report, and an estimated 5 million more are working fewer hours and drawing smaller paychecks than they were before the worst recession in a generation hit.
Trying to soften the dismal news, President Obama signed legislation yesterday that gives added aid for the jobless and expands and extends homebuyer tax credits.