ABSTRACT
Unemployment is a major cause of economic insecurity in the United States in recent years. In the 2007-2009 recession, the United States experienced a severe financial meltdown and the second worst downswing in its history, next only to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.1 percent in October 2009, and 15.6 million workers lost their jobs. Since that time, the unemployment rate declined slightly to 9.1 percent in August 2011. However, when a broader measure of labor market conditions is used, which includes unemployment and underemployment (discussed later), the broader rate was 16.2 percent.1 Stated differently, more than one in six potential workers was unemployed or underemployed in August 2011.
