Negative Economic Indicators

Instapundit Glenn Reynolds quotes The Wall Street Journal on how American workers are faring in the Obama Administration. Unfortunately the article is behind the WSJ paywall and, as such, requires a subscription to access.

The official U.S. unemployment rate has indeed fallen steadily during the past few years, but the economic recovery has created the fewest jobs relative to the previous employment peak of any prior recovery. The labor-force participation rate recently touched a 36-year low of 62.7%. The number of Americans not in the labor force set a record high of 92.6 million in September. Part-time work and long-term unemployment are still well above levels from before the financial crisis.

Worse, middle-class incomes continue to fall during the recovery, losing even more ground than during the December 2007 to June 2009 recession. The number in poverty has also continued to soar, to about 50 million Americans. That is the highest level in the more than 50 years that the U.S. Census has been tracking poverty. Income inequality has risen more in the past few years than at any recent time.

Higher poverty and income inequality rates, lower labor-force participation. The middle class in trouble, too. A gloomy outlook for our society's health is fully justified by such numbers. No wonder the election results were so tough for the President's party.