The U.S. Unemployment Rate

From the website found here, you'll see that the national unemployment rate wrapped up 2010 by significantly dropping to 9.4 percent in December, despite that job gains fell short of expectations.  At 9.4 percent, down from 9.8 in November, December’s unemployment rate was the lowest since 9.4 in May 2009. The unemployment rate was significantly below its recessionary peak of 10.1 percent in October 2009 and way better than its record high of 10.8 since 1948, set by the 1980s recession. However, it’s been stuck above 9 percent for 20 months in a row, a new post-World War II record.  Keep in mind that the current U.S. unemployment rate does not include workers who are involuntarily working only part time and with fewer benefits