Hard year

I suspect that, in general, people on this list have been hit more severely due to the huge contraction in the IT business. This would probably be the case to some extent even if the rest of the economy was healthy. You can define unemployment many different ways. There was an investigative piece recently in the New York Times (I believe) that noted that people who are considered "disabled" are not counted as unemployed. It also turns out that about 40% or so of low-skill workers who lose their jobs, and are unable to find new work, eventually claim to be disabled. This has been a huge trend in the last decade, and when the increases in those claiming disability are backed out of the employment figures, it turns out that there was actually almost no employment growth at all during the 1990s, and that the waves of people presently claiming disability is masking a fairly steep employment decline. This year in California the governer signed legislation shifting the burden to the employer/state to prove that an employee claiming disability is actually not disabled, meaning (in the great tradition of soft-tissue injury claims) that more people will be deemed disabled. Ironically, one of the effects of this legislation will be to reduce unemployment. Whatever the condition of the economy, it isn't depressing the prices of classic stuff on eBay. I haven't bought much at all on eBay this year -- and it's only because I am getting outbid on almost everything -- even sniping doesn't work anymore! Prices in prior years have dropped dramatically during the summer, but not this year. -W