USA: Fast becoming a nation of the unemployed?

Weighed down by energy prices and the housing crisis, employers laid off workers in stores, factories and forsaken building sites.

With more job cuts expected in coming months, there's growing concern that many people will pull back on their spending later this year when the bracing effect of the tax rebates fades, dealing a dangerous setback to the shaky economy. These worries are rekindling recession fears.

"The deteriorating jobs climate will dampen many a barbecue this weekend. It's hard to celebrate when you are out of a job," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

In June alone, employers got rid of 62,000 jobs, bringing total losses so far this year close to a staggering half-million — 438,000, according to the Labor Department's report released Thursday. The economy needs to generate more than 100,000 new jobs a month for employment to remain stable.

The jobless rate held steady at 5.5 percent after jumping in May by the most in two decades. Still, June's jobless rate was considerably higher than the 4.6 percent of a year ago. The unemployment rate is expected to climb through the rest of this year and top 6 percent early next year.

Just in the past few days, Chrysler LLC said it would close a plant and Starbucks Corp. said it would shut some 600 stores in the next year, meaning more lost jobs ahead. American Airlines recently said it may cut flight attendant jobs, the AP reports.

Worrisome indeed. That would be 16.5 Million people in USA, total unemployed. I quickly compared it to Holland, a nation that coincidentally has nearly the same population as the unemployed in U.S. The dutch figures have improved since 2004, where there were 700,000, nearly 4.6% to 2.3% at 380,000 as of today.

This was last year figures for The Netherlands and 2008 is a historically low year for the Dutch!
The bad part of the story about our western brother's does indeed worry me a lot.

Source

On another note, we see clearly which nations will eventually be the "supplier" nations, the the gap will have to be filled in Europe. I think the rest of the world is far too busy replicating.

Populations of possible Supplier Nations (If they have labor that is usable for the demand nations):

US



China



India



Demand Countries?

Some economists predict doom for European nations, but I disagree there with them. These nations and a combined EU will eventually play as "wedges to economic mayhem and riots" and help catalyze the sustainability wave that will globally usher some relief.

Netherlands



Italy



Germany (the population is 85+ Million, there is an error on that number on the chart, its 83,000)



France



Demographies of all nations