I figure that the nationwide unemployment rate is going to hit ten percent by then. Still, the effects of the recession are not being felt evenly. My lady and I went to a restaurant tonight with three of her work friends, and by 5:30, the place was chock full of people on a Sunday night. Mind you, this is in the town where Bernie Madoff's accounting firm was located, you know there were a lot of people in that town who lost their shirts to these crooks.
Among my friends, people who work in the private sector are being affected in various ways—lay-offs, more work hours to make up for those let go, cuts in hours for part-time workers, drop in income for small business owners, etc. People who have government jobs have not been affected so far.