>NYT 2-06-2003:
>
>"About one million people appear to have dropped out of the labor force
>since last summer, neither working nor looking for a job, according to
>government figures.
>
>The surge in discouraged workers is the most significant since the months
>immediately after the recession's start. This suggests that the pain of
>joblessness has worsened even though the official unemployment rate, which
>counts only people looking for work, held steady at 6 percent in
>December."
>
>(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/06/business/06JOBS.html?th)
One more thing - real wage growth is slowing considerably, and is now approaching 0% year-to-year.
Doug