The Unemployed American
In the current recession, unemployment rose to its highest point in late 2009. But the numbers are not much better today, and there is little sign of job growth in the near future. Jobless rates are especially high in industrial fields like manufacturing and construction, creating serious blows for the already hurting middle class; the underemployment rate, which includes people who can find only part-time work, is an even more telling sign of the economic pain, standing at close to 20%. What little power the unemployed and underemployed do have left, they showed at the polls in November, expressing their growing frustration with the government's economic-recovery efforts by voting out droves of incumbents and handing control of the House of Representatives back to Republicans.