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The following was written by James Quinn, US Business Editor for Telegrapgh.co.uk in his September 4, 2009 article: "US unemployment rate hits a 26-year high - The latest US unemployment figures show that there are now 14.9m people out of work, the highest level in 26 years."

"The number of Americans who have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007, has now risen to 6.9m - more than during any economic slump in the last 60 years. Fresh data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) shows that the US unemployment rate rose to 9.7pc in August – from 9.4pc in July – its highest level since June 1983. Some 216,000 jobs were lost last month in the private and public sectors, compared to 276,000 in July. The figure was slightly better than the 225,000 job losses economists had been expecting. However, the US government has revised its previous estimates for June and July, and now estimate 463,000 jobs were lost in June, rather than its earlier estimate of 443,000, and some 276,000 in July, which compares with its previous figure of 247,000. The negative revisions, coupled with the higher-than-expected unemployment rate, led economists to ponder whether the US's economic recovery – which is expected to begin in the second-half of 2009 – is on track."

A month earlier (August 5, 2009), in it's article entitled, "Joblessness Will Hinder U.S. Recovery" at Forbes.com, Oxford Analytica concluded that "Stubbornly high unemployment saps the potential for a quick, strong rebound." It was also reported, in part, that:

"In his semi-annual congressional testimony on the state of the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted the risk the exceptionally weak labor market poses to U.S. economic recovery. And the furious pace of payroll reduction by employers during the second quarter suggests his fears are well founded."

Nevertheless, Ben and his buddies at the Federal Reserve are talking about a recovery next year.

Perhaps Abe Lincoln had it right:

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual