Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio yet

U.S. Job Seekers Exceed Openings by Record Ratio - NYTimes.com

    To quote one of the references for the article “I’ve got October rent. After that, I don’t know. I’ve never lived month to month my entire life. I’m just so scared, I can’t even put it into words.” Hey, tell us about it. It ain't no fun to be living on the edge month after month. And just one extra "push" and over the edge you go. At least in the USA and Europe there is a safety net.  Try living in most of the developing world. We as USA ex-pats at least have "something" to fall back on.  But think about the millions and millions of people around the world who basically have just the shirt on their back.
    As an engineer married to a math teacher, numbers and statistics come with the territory. Being one of the statistics (under/unemployed since layoff in March 2007, no health insurance, etc., etc.) after awhile it gets to be numbing. But 6:1 odds for jobseekers is beyond "numb." How about "deadly"? The USA faces a LONG recovery. And we all know that the un/under employment will only get worse before it gets better.  In the mean time as they say "when Uncle Sam sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold".  Remember the many "Bolivias" of the world that are suffering from unemployment & underemployment that is way beyond 6:1