The difference between 1983 and now is that more sectors and counties of America are affected than then. The rustbelt states were taking it more on the chin than the rest of the USA back then. In 1983, 40-plus percent of the black male population in urban centers like Chicago could not get work.
However, now in 2009, many more regions "including rural, semi-urban, and urban demographic regions around America are running real unemployment (beyond the U-6 indicator) between 20 and 45%. These figures would include many independent contractors, who are not controlled for in government figures to date.
Without a doubt, the only organization getting a boon from this unemployment situation in the depressed USA is the Department of Defense, where recruitment of soldier-targets were achieved recently for the first time in decades. "In announcing the milestone, the Pentagon said the nation's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression played a key role in boosting enlistments. Senior Pentagon official Curtis Gilroy said a ten percent increase in the national unemployment rate generally translates into a four to six percent improvement in recruiting goals. Another top official, Bill Carr, called the recession ˜a force,' adding, ˜unemployment allowed us to be for much of the year in a very favorable position.'
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/15/headlines#17
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