[Lightnin]

"Actually, 6% unemployment is very high for the United States. There have prolonged periods (1951-72) when the average was under 4%."

That is absolutely incorrect.

Check the World Almanac under "unemployment" and you will see that there has rarely ever been a period in which unemployment averaged under 4%.

You must have gotten your data from the New York Times!

[sarcasm]

See the link in #17.

[sarcasm]

Annual average unemployment rate, civilian labor force 16 years and over

Year	Ann Avg
1948	3.8
1949	5.9
1950	5.3
1951	3.3
1952	3.0
1953	2.9
1954	5.5
1955	4.4
1956	4.1
1957	4.3
1958	6.8
1959	5.5
1960	5.5
1961	6.7
1962	5.5
1963	5.7
1964	5.2
1965	4.5
1966	3.8
1967	3.8
1968	3.6
1969	3.5
1970	4.9
1971	5.9
1972	5.6
1973	4.9
1974	5.6
1975	8.5
1976	7.7
1977	7.1
1978	6.1
1979	5.8
1980	7.1
1981	7.6
1982	9.7
1983	9.6
1984	7.5
1985	7.2
1986	7.0
1987	6.2
1988	5.5
1989	5.3
1990	5.6
1991	6.8
1992	7.5
1993	6.9
1994	6.1
1995	5.6
1996	5.4
1997	4.9
1998	4.5
1999	4.2
2000	4.0
2001	4.7
2002	5.8