Edward T.

The points of my e-mail post was:
1. The owners of any lift truck company factory or dealer are not getting rich at the expense of employees. Sales are down, revenues are down, profit margins are down.
2.. Still having a job even at a lower pay is very much better than going to the unemployment office. $320 a week doesn't go too far. That is called a personal depression.
3. Should you find yourself without a job as I did in 1981, look at it as an opportunity to do something you always wanted to do rather than look at your shoeshine.

Further, I simply stated what the unemployment rate that was published in 1981 as compared to the percent printed today and alluded to the point it may get worse in 2009. How it was calculated then vs. today is a non issue. As I believe at the same time the formula for determining how the unemployment level was revised the percentage of what was considered full employment was also revised from 3.5% unemployed to 4.5%.
It is obvious that you will have more people out of work with a population growth even if the unemployment percentage remains the same. It is not a good situation any way you look at it. I have friends in the lift truck industry that have been caught up in today's situation. A company I worked for had about 250 employees at one time has about 100 today.