Charting the Jobless

Hi, folks!

The recession is over! The Dow Jones Index, long regarded as the only factor to consider when assessing the economic health of the world, surges heroically past 10,000 points! Hostile takeovers are fashionable again! Credit card regulations are soon to take place, even as credit card company push up rates to 30 percent, a benchmark of which even the mob would be ashamed!

In other words, we should soon return to the halcyon days of fifteen months ago, right? The days when dollars flowed like donuts, $350 wastebaskets were acceptable, and people could enjoy a dessert for two -- Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream in a pool of cognac, drizzled in the world's most expensive chocolate, Amadei Porcelana, covered with shaved white, black, and clear truffles, topped with edible 25-carat gold leaf?

And surely someone's plugged up the ship called Employment and made it seaworthy again, no?

No?

Crap.

It seems the vessel Unemployment is more crowded than ever. People from all walks of life have congregated on this ship, hoping their collective weight does not end up sending it, and us, to Davy Jones' locker down where the sun is but a rumor.

At least we can now know the make-up of the crew. Here, in all its graphic glory, is a chart outlining which groups are the ones most affected by the unemployment monster.

You can break it down by race, age bracket, and education. No matter what you choose, you'll be terrified.

Send help.