The June employment report suggests that the alleged green shoots are
mostly yellow weeds that may eventually turn into brown manure. The
employment report shows that conditions in the labor market continue to
be extremely weak, with job losses in June of over 460,000. With the
current rate of job losses, it is very clear that the unemployment rate
could reach 10% by later this summer--around August or September--and
will be closer to 10.5%, if not 11%, by year-end. I expect the
unemployment rate is going to peak at around 11% at some point in 2010,
well above historical standards for even severe recessions.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/brown-manure-not-green-shoots/20965/