Oh, and it's not the highest since the Great Depression either -- there was a spike to 10.8% in 1982.
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&...
Isn't data wonderful?
Data is not wonderful when it is used to confuse and deceive rather than enlighten. Data becomes a tool of enslavement when a word like "unemployment" takes on an operational definition that does not reflect the public perception.
Participation, of course, is a tricky beast. Sometimes people stop participating because they're despairing over being able to find a job, but they also retire, or get pregnant, or go back to university or (if immigrants) their home countries.
He presented no statistics at all, you presented statistics that are clearly entirely ignoring a important figure.
Neither of you seem to be at all interested in seeking the truth, each just advancing their own personal agenda.
meh.