Every thing old is new again– just ask retro-rocker Lenny Kravitz, who has made a career out of channeling the 1970’s. But Lenny’s not the only one putting the yes back in yesterday, as the entire work force of the United States is now going for that that 1974 look. No, they’re not putting on bell-bottoms and listening to The Guess Who on their way to the office … but they are out of their jobs in record numbers.
The 533,000 positions slashed this past November matched the largest one-month employment massacre in the U.S. since the final month of 1974, when 603,000 jobs disappeared into the economic abyss. In accordance with the eleven consecutive months of declining employment, the jobless rate now sits at 6.7%, the highest it’s been since 1994. Reacting to the news, President-elect Obama declared that things would get worse before they get better, but he also sees this as “… an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children.” And if that doesn’t happen, we can all take solace in knowing that the life of a boxcar hobo can be quite adventurous.
