Jobs matter

Until unemployment drops recovery is a long way away | Mindy Belz

Associated Press/Photo by Eric Risberg

For those of us who lack the advanced degrees necessary to assess the economy—are we in turnaround mode or set for more downturn?—here's a simple thing to watch for: where economists or pundits of left and right agree.

So take jobs. The news that the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in March—the first such gain in three years—was hailed by some as a sign of turnaround. Skeptics were quick to point out that one-third of the new jobs were temporary hires for census. And that 24 states had unemployment rate increases—­suggesting a persistent pattern of joblessness that engulfs nearly half our country.

But experts across the spectrum agreed: Long-term unemployment—people out of work more than six months—is the worst it's been in memory and not budging.