To many observers the choice is simple: These are the worst of economic times, or almost—and we are on the brink of something worse. Incumbent politicians fear this is the case, and challengers, sotto voce, hope it is. They focus on what to them is the long run—the 22 weeks until Election Day, November 6, when voters will tell them whether they can continue in office or must find gainful employment in the private sector.
The Department of Labor reports that only 69,000 new jobs were created in May, about one-third the average monthly gain in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April. To make matters worse, the figures originally reported for March and April were lowered by 49,000, and the number of workers unable to find jobs for 27 weeks or more rose from 5.1 million to 5.4 million. The broadest measure of unemployment, the number unable to find full-time work or too discouraged to look for a job, now exceeds 23 million, up from 14.5 percent to 14.8 percent of the work force. Markets tanked, wiping out all of the year’s gains.
