The "liberal elite media" has been comparing today's global economic crisis to the Great Depression for some time now. Many feel that the economic conditions during the Great Depression were far more depressing than today's crisis, citing peak unemployment rates of 24.9% in 1933 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I would be interested in comparing numbers to numbers as percentages are actually a bit subjective. 24.9% of 2x could end up being less than 6.5% of 4x. Our total workforce today is much, much larger than it was in 1933. According to Wikipedia, there were about 24.8 million people employed in 1933, whilst we have a workforce of approximately 155 million today.
From a quick calculation, about 8.22 million people were effectively unemployed in 1933.
According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now 10.1 million people who are unemployed today.
Is today's global financial crisis starting to outpace the Great Depression?
I sincerely hope not.
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