Robert Reich on the Jobless Recovery

From Reich's blog:

This is not a recovery. It’s a continuing jobs emergency and it demands action.

We learned this morning that unemployment rose to 9.8 percent in November and employers added only 39,000 jobs. Private employers added 50,000 — the smallest gain since January. Government employment continued to shrink.

We’re heading in the wrong direction. In October, the jobless rate was 9.6 percent, and employers added 172,000 jobs. Private-sector job growth totaled 160,000.

At this rate unemployment won’t return to its pre-recession level for more than a decade, if ever.

Over 15 million Americans were jobless in November. This doesn’t include those who are working part-time but would prefer to work full time. Nor does it include a record 1.3 million who are too discouraged even to look for work.

The sad fact is that Obama isn't listening and couldn't care less about the large number of unemployed. His story is that his stimulus in March 2009 "worked" and everything is unfolding as it should.

Meanwhile Republicans are determined to make sure there is no recovery until a Republican is president. And "blue dog" Democrats are convinced that America has a problem with deficits and not unemployment.

The whole this is past the point of absurdity and into the land of the incredible and unspeakable.