The Unemployment bug is hitting the United States like crazy! It’s not just hundreds, even thousands but hundreds of thousands of workers are losing their jobs!

This is really a national emergency if you ask me. And somehow it is nearing the depth and scale of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Why do I say this. Let’s try to take a look at the facts.

All of the 50 states in the United States of America including the District of Columbia recorded an all time high in unemployment rate increases. This is the first time that the rise in unemployment level reached this high!

The unemployment rate at Michigan is at 10.6%
Rhode Island’s rate is at 10%
Wyoming’s unemployment rate is at 3.4%
North Dakota at 3.5%
Indiana and South Carolina’s unemployment rate jumped by as 1.1%
The rate of unemployment in Idaho rose to 6.4% from 2.7% and Rhode Island climbed to 10% from 5.2% last year.
Florida’s unemployment rate jumped from 7.4% to 8.1% in just a month. Last year, it was 4.5%
Overall, the United States unemployment rate is 7.2% in December from 6.8% in November. In 2007, the figure was at 4.9%

According to Rebecca Rust, chief economist of Florida, “Virtually all industries are losing jobs except education and health care.”

image credit: http://www.samuelbrittan.co.uk/

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Movie credits.

Closing time.

Break up.

Year end.

They all have something in common and it’s not about having two words. They all signify the end of something. But whenever something ends, it also means a new beginning.

Are you starting anew this year?

I am thankful for the Christmas season and the New Year. Not because of the long vacation break and the overflowing food and drinks plus the presents too. I’m thankful for the New Year for a chance to start anew.

We measure our lives by the number of years that we go through. That’s why we welcome each New Year that arrives. That’s also why we celebrate birthdays.

How did you go through the year 2008?

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