figure: What's people want?

Data sources from CBS News/New York Times Poll [January, 2009], available from iPOLL Databank of Roper Center.

Figure: Sapping of Confidence, by APC Polling Unit

According to ABC Polling Unit, consumer confidence dropped this week to within a point of its lowest in 23 years.

Figure: Unemployment Rate over 50 Years, Produced by BLS Database on Employment

Report for Dec 2008 by Bureau of Labor Statistic indicated "Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In December, job losses were large and widespread across most major industry sectors."