Reply #56: That 70s show - The 1970s were bad enough the first time around

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/jobless-report-suggests-return-1970s/story.aspx?guid=%7B99132D34%2DAB1B%2D48A9%2D9352%2DDAD960EC5B2D%7D

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The 1970s were bad enough the first time around.

Anybody who lived through oil shocks, gas lines, stagflation and leisure suits can't help but hope that those days will never return.

But Friday's jump in unemployment, coupled with unprecedented jumps in oil prices and Middle East political tensions, sure seem to have us heading back to a pretty depressing future.

The jobless rate rose 0.5% to 5.5% in May, the biggest month-to-month jump in seasonally adjusted unemployment in 33 years. See related story.

True, the Labor Department numbers have to attempt to account for a time of year when lots of temporary workers come into the labor force. But the size of the jump and its breadth really overwhelm any hopes that the number is a fluke.

The timing couldn't be worse for Ben Bernanke.

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