Friday, December 5, 2008

-533, THIS is how a recession feels

The media headline comparisons to "the worst on record" are not standardized.

As a percentage decline in the workforce, it is about 0.4%. That puts it on par with the 81-82 drop and twice the size of the 91-92 falloff.

It's well below the 74-75 worst experience.

On the longer record, there are monthly drops that are double ...

Update of interest: There are many years in which there were no monthly falls in payroll employment. However, this is the first year that there will likely be no monthly increase in payroll employment. This is a long series. That's pretty stunning. In 1982 there were two up months and in 2001, just one. They were small, but still up (seasonally adjusted).

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