Is Double-Digit Unemployment Here to Stay?

Time Magazine’s feature story this week is a sobering report on double digit unemployment. The magazine asks, frighteningly, if double-digit unemployment is here to stay. Economists had long since told us that when growth returned, jobs would return. But now, top labor analysts are wondering whether this truism still rings true. Has something fundamental changed (been destroyed) in our economy?

What’s the solution? According to the Time reporter, it’s as “simple” as an employment-emergency bill, which will:

guarantee jobless workers a basic set of rights for two to three years: health care, access to retraining, subsidized mentoring for careers in high-end manufacturing or health services.

One thing I did notice was that the article once again pointed to recession-proof/growth industries as education, health care and other service industires. It’s the same areas we have been touting for months here. (Just a reminder, the JobMonkey is a great source of information on these growth careers, including our extension section on nursing jobs, teaching ESL jobs, and green jobs.)

Okay, now, politics aside (is that possible these days), what do you think? Go read the article on Time Magazine, and then share your opinions with us!