Economic Recovery Stalled by Job Losses

While the economy seemed to be showing signs that it would eventually strengthen as the year went on, staggering unemployment numbers tell a different story. While the situation for the average American worker already very grim, it seems that the worst has yet to come.

The unemployment rate has risen from 9.4 percent to 9.5 percent, with 465,000 workers losing their jobs in June. 614,000 people applied for unemployment insurance benefits just last week. Although the number of people losing jobs had decreased every month since January, June represents a year-long high in the numbers.

Analysts predict double-digit unemployment numbers in just a couple of months if the situation does not drastically improve. This is a dramatic reversal from the optimism that analysts had expressed as recently as last week about the potential for quick economic stabilization. The possibility for recovery still remains, but the new unemployment numbers emphasize that recovery will not happen overnight and that there is still  a lot of work to be done.

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