According to Congress things are running smoothly and all is fine in the world. From a technical standpoint we left the recession in June of 2009. Unfortunately for many it just does not feel like it. In a recent discussion with a client, she stated that we were in a depression not a recession or even the possibility of a recovery.
According to the Department of Labor; applications for unemployment benefits have topped 400,000 for 12 straight weeks. Applications had fallen in February to 375,000, a level that signals sustainable job growth. They stayed below 400,000 for seven of nine weeks. But applications then surged to an eight-month high of 478,000 in April and have shown only modest improvement since that time.
This in the type of news that does not give a body that warm fuzzy feeling that all is right with the world. Added to this, the people I have talked to in their 50’s and 60’s who have been let go from their jobs and feel they will never be fully employed again. This coupled with those who had to tap their qualified funds; I feel we are not in as great a shape as Congress would have us believe.