Although it was expected, the announcement last week that unemployment in the United States hit double digits for the first time since the early 80s didn't fail to startle. How does one prepare for news like that? And besides, didn't the economists tell us recently that we are in a recovery (jobless, no doubt)?

Some observations on these hard times: The ranks of the homeless are growing. African-Americans have been particularly hard hit by the recession (surprise, surprise). Spanish youth unemployment exceedes forty percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this year the proportion of young people employed in July was the lowest July rate on record (the series goes back to 1948). Women, increasingly, are becoming the breadwinners of their families. Though this might seem like a step forward for gender inequality, think of the sectors of the economy most affected by the recession - manufacturing, construction, Wall Street finance - they are male-dominated. Meanwhile, more women-friendly sectors - education, health care - have not been hit quite as hard. Unfortunately, women do not make as much as men, and many of those industries are not as lucrative as more male-dominated professions.That persistent, unaddressed American injustice is now hurting whole families during this recession.

But when will jobs return? Some, unfortunately, may not. Others, many economists say, may take years to return. Rutgers University economist Joseph Seneca told the Wall Street Journal, "the U.S. wouldn't get back to a 5% unemployment rate until late 2017." That, unfortunately, would cover an entire two-term Obama Presidency. On Friday, trying to stave off popular discontent on the heels of a punishing election night, the President signed an extension of jobless benefits. During the 2008 campaign the running joke was: Why would anyone want to be President nowadays? Unfortunately, it has proven itself all too true.