Recessions

Daniel Gross’ new book “Better, Stronger, Faster: The Myth of American Decline and the Rise of a New Economy,” has a more optimistic take on the U.S. economy and its current state.

Look around prime time television line-ups and you’ll find several examples of the economic hard times that Americans are facing. And though times are starting to look better, with the economy trending upward, more Great Recession-themed shows are popping up on TV schedules.

New economic reports out Thursday morning had good news about the American economy — but not good enough to really push down the nation’s unemployment rate. Experts say we’ll need much stronger growth, stronger than they’re forecasting for the year, to see large and sustained declines in unemployment.

Long-term unemployment numbers are the highest they’ve been since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it is still difficult to find a job in this economy, and experts are predicting that’s not going to change anytime soon.

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down a tenth of a percent 9 percent in October after the economy added 80,000 jobs, the latest U.S. Department of Labor figures show.