Hungry? Out of Work? The Bush Recovery™ not working for you?

We explain a bit. Mind you, this recovery is now in its (drum roll, please) 23rd month. No, that is not a misprint. As you may have guessed, this is far from an average recovery. A few figures:

The economy has gained 330,000 jobs since August, lagging about 7 million jobs behind the normal hiring cycle after a recession, says Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley’s chief economist.

The jobs picture is even bleaker if you remember that the economy has lost 2.8 million relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs since the start of the down cycle. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average manufacturing worker who is laid off takes a 13% to 14% wage cut in his or her new job.

Many of this recovery’s new jobs come with fewer benefits. But even those companies that continue to provide solid benefits are passing on more of that cost. According to Hewitt Associates, employees can expect to pay 23% of the cost of their own health-care benefits in 2004, up from 21% in 2003.

Things are far from robust. Tomorrow, we'll offer more color to the continued economc malaise, and offer some short, and long term solutions.