Even before the World Trade Center tragedy struck a blow at the economy, the
national unemployment rate had begun to rise in recent months--and comments like
these began appearing in the press:

"The economy is moving to a more normal, sustainable unemployment rate after a
period of rapid growth" (Neal Soss, chief economist at Credit Suisse First
Boston, quoted in The Washington Post, May 5, 2001).

"Unemployment, despite thousands of recent layoffs across a
wide range of sectors, is still well below the rate commonly associated with
stable inflation and growth" (New York Times editorial, June 28, 2001).