Absolute job losses in context of recent recessions:
That last graph is dire, but a bit unfair: The population is larger than it was in the 80s. So this chart plots job losses as a percentage of the working population in context of the last six recessions (via Kevin Drum):
What scares me is not that this is the worst recession since 1981. It's that it's already the worst recession since 1981 and there are a whole host of unknown factors -- namely the banks -- that make its path impossible to predict.
That last graph is dire, but a bit unfair: The population is larger than it was in the 80s. So this chart plots job losses as a percentage of the working population in context of the last six recessions (via Kevin Drum):
What scares me is not that this is the worst recession since 1981. It's that it's already the worst recession since 1981 and there are a whole host of unknown factors -- namely the banks -- that make its path impossible to predict. 
