While many are focused on the unemployment numbers, currently at 9.5%, more emblematic of the problem is the low employment to population ratio, which stands at roughly 58%, levels last experienced in the early 1980s, when the population was approximately 80mln less than it is today.

The most interesting development during this recession has been the divergence in employment by age group.  After a devastating loss of wealth in 2008, the baby boomer demographic elected to postpone retirement, resulting in this group being the only one to experience net employment growth during this period.