France is set up very anti-employment wise.

It's nearly impossible to hire or fire workers.

As such it's employment numbers look bad when times are good, and good when times are bad.

Unless the US stays depressed period like Japan or something we should outpace them.

Quite a few people I know are using their respective degrees (they work in the field they got the degree in).

I think you and the OP are correct overall, but I also think it's a matter of location/occupation as to whether or not you can use your degree.

From what I see, a degree in journalism or technical writing will be more usable than a degree in music or the like in this economy.

I agree. This recession has been a long time coming. Most of this decade has been spent avoiding it at all costs through rock-bottom interest rates, deficit spending, and a housing bubble. The time has come to pay the piper, and trying desperately to return to prosperity immediately would probably just kick the problem down the road and lead to another huge collapse.

The US government has done its job and prevented a catastophic loss of confidence in the financial sector, it's time to back off and let the recession simmer while everybody adjusts to a few economic realities.

Of course, nobody wants to take their medicine, so we can expect the US gov and the Fed to cave to voter and interest group pressure and keep desperately trying to kick start growth and set things up for another bust in the next 5-10 years. :P

We were living off of money that was borrowed, so it won't get back to those levels.

yeah I have a degree in engineering, which I think is a little more technical and a little less artsy than music or journalism.

Problem is that its a construction based industry

Easy credit should re-emerge eventually. Perhaps sooner, perhaps later, but in the end, someone will forget the lesson they learned.

I don't think it's a matter of now being the new normal. Just a matter of what we had in the 90's and early part of the 00's as being above the normal. We bought too much, and that created too many jobs in too frivolous of areas.

I think on the other end, we're experiencing the knee-jerk normal. I think unemployment will, and should, go down in 4-5 years (to about 5-6%) if we're smart about the recovery (which we are not).

Unfortunately, the costs of this are smarter citizens not doing stupid things with their education (and I'm not referring that to you, but a lot of people in general - they think they can go to college, blow the experience, and get a job), their time, or their money.

I hope that this bout of recession reminds Americans, as well as everyone, to be responsible with what they have. Responsibility is a long lost virtue that everyone has forgotten. In my family/friends, I am one of only a scant few people that isn't either married, divorced, with kids, or in college hoping to get a job...Everyone around me is as irresponsible as life could dictate, and it's amazing how quickly the world can fall around those that aren't prepared.

One of the problems rarely discussed but is directly related to the current economic predicament is how salaries and wages have remained unchanged or stagnant, while the costs of living have risen exponentially, for quite some time now.

Things will not go back to how they "used to be" and also depending on who you ask 3-4 yrs ago wasn't all that great either, though comparbale to where things are now makes it look much more rosy.

Double-digits... no it doesn't, man. What do you think is the private business average decline in revenue? That's the number that matters, not 'a lot of businesses'. And next, state and community institutions don't drop many % at all in their production or 'revenue' (schools and education, authorites, the military, science, administration etc) despite the Crysis.

And there are other factors that are included in the GDP that I dont remember rite now.

Plus I hardly think Q3 and Q4 in 2009 will be much worse than the already very bad Q3/4 in 2008.

iono, its been pretty discouraging looking for a job now. I had doubts about my resume or my experience or something but now I think its just how insanely bleak the economy is.

though i am still fortunate to still have a job. Unfortunately, my working where I am is pretty much displacing any high school/college students who are just starting out and need a job.