9. Real Wages and Unemployment

Economic activity in the United States has been on the upswi ng for well over two years.The economics of nearly all other industrialized countries are also advancing, although generally not quite as quickly as the American economy.In the decade prior to the current recovery, which began in 1982, the economies of the United States and Europe grew atsimilar rates.Despite this similarity in output growth, employment growth has been strong here but nonexistent in Europe.