Area Unemployment Rate Remains Stubborn

The unemployment rate for August, released today, sits at 8.8 percent for the second consecutive month. One year ago the rate was 8.9 percent. Although the economy is now officially in recovery mode (the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the recession over as of June 2008) we have yet to see a surge in employment. There remains a great deal of uncertainty in the economy. Businesses are not going to start hiring again until they are confident the economy is on solid ground. While economic figures like GDP were encouraging earlier in the year, the third quarter numbers are not expected to be as strong. This will likely forestall many employers’ hiring plans even further. Unfortunately, this is looking more and more like a very slow recovery.