New unemployment figures for the month of June shows it remains at 9.2%. Only 18,000 jobs were added in June.

GDP is rising and there are a lot of indicators that the economy is moving along nicely. However, employers are still reluctant to hire and are happy to keep the existing staff and let them do extra work. You may notice that profits continue to rise for a lot of large corporations.

We may find that the employment figures will not improve for years as companies keep a tight hold on expenses and the bottom line and shift to a more prudent way of working.

The U.S. government regularly releases statistics that reflect only a partial reality of the true economic health of the nation. As an example, the Unemployment Rate data provided by the government has not included estimates for long-term unemployed/discouraged workers since the year 1994. If earlier methodologies were applied to the Unemployment Rate, the figure would be 23 percent. For additional information, see http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts .

Is the recession lifting? Not a chance. Are things going to get worse? All signs indicate they will continue to do so on all fronts. There is a lot of double-speak that we've been exposed to these past several years from politicians and their handlers in Wall Street. Whenever the economy takes a hit, the public is encouraged to believe that the market is 'correcting' itself or that the key 'indicators' are looking better. This is just smoke and mirrors to lull the public to sleep and sucker them into throwing more money into the stock market and other investment schemes they have no control over. It's time to grow up and realize that we've been lied to.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that things are going from bad to worse. For anyone who is more interested in their finances than watching television, it is obvious that the price of food, appliances, and even simple goods have been rapidly rising the past few years. This year alone, I've seen significant jumps in what I pay at the grocery store. Salaries of the average worker are stagnant or declining due to budget deficits and 'furloughs', making the lot of the taxpayer even more difficult.

To be sure the so-called recession (soon to be re-labeled a depression) is not going to improve anytime soon. Those who are looking for wisdom in government circles to correct matters are going to be very disappointed.

This answer was edited by Cubefarmboy 249 days ago.

Reason: typo

The unemployment did not "remain" at 9.2%, it has actually increased from 9.1%. The unemployment is staying the same or rising slightly so far this year. It has gone up from 8.9% (in the beginning of this year) to what it is now.

I agree with you that it does not feel like the recession is lifting. By technical terms, we are out of recession and are currently in a recovery, but it does not feel that way. As long as we do not have jobs, things will not get better.

Companies currently are sitting on record high cash piles and earning large profits yet they are not hiring more people. Lots of the growth for companies right now are in foreign markets such as China. This is where many companies are making investments. In the United States, companies don't want to hire new workers because they feel that the economy will not recover fast enough to keep up with their growth.

Anyways, this figure will do nothing but hurt Obama's chances of reelection. If he cannot solve the unemployment problem, then I want a new president that can.

This answer was edited by kyle246 249 days ago.

Reason: added something

Thanks to each of you who answered this question for the excellent responses. In short, we have rough times ahead.