Unemployment percentages only reflect those applying and receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Those who have exhausted their benefits are not reflected in the figures. I guess the numbers in that category are staggering.

Yes, Yes, things look dire. However, when you consider that ONLY ...4.61.... Million are taking unemployment benefits and you consider that we have about 350 million Americans...... ITS not all doom and gloom.

All of us, shopped less this Christmas. Even though the majority of Americans are employed, we have been cautious. For too long, we have lived 'high on the hog' and now with mounting National debt, two wars, growing unemployment, home foreclosures, etc., we are being cautious and perhaps even frugal!

We CAN and we WILL return to prosperity. But I hope that we will take a good hard look at how we live our lives, our finances and what we really value and make some significant changes. We can not live in debt! Americans need to learn to save for retirement, and to delay gratification.

HOPE WINS EVERY TIME.

If jobless claims are dropping, where did Pres-elect Obama come up with the possibility we might hit double-digit unemployment? Are there any economists without ties to his team that would agree?

Sure the jobless rate has dropped, but those figures on are based on people who are receiving benefits or are filing for them. No one seems to remember that there a lot of people who are no longer receiving benefits because they have run out. Why doesn't someone do a story on the new poor those who are forced to go on public assistance because they can't find work because they are too old to be accepted into the new youth oriented workforce, I'm talking about those in their late forties or early 50s, young enough to work, but considered to be too old by the present working community.

The bottom line is that the ranks of the unemployed are incresign drmatically in numbers every month. The government 'jobless' do not by any means reflect the actual number of people either part time employed or ones that have simply had their benefits expire. There are a lot more poeple out there that are barely surviving or are out of work completely than any of these government numbers suggest.

I'd be willing to bet that the number of actual under and UN-employed exceed 10% right now !!!!

The over 40 crowd does have a tougher time finding a new job after being laid off – companies like to hire new graduates – they know the latest technology and they don't cost as much. By the time you hit your 40s and 50s your salary expectations have grown with your age and your responsibilities. And while companies are not suppose to discriminate on the basis of age, they do, but they frame it as qualifications or some other quality as long as its not age. That is what makes all these layoffs and off-shoring so difficult; those who are over 40 but no where near retirement realize that they have a long slough ahead of them and that to get another job they are going to have to lower their living standards quite a bit to compete at salary level. Companies should remember though that you get what you pay for and a lot of times paying more for experience will cost you less in the end.