By Stephen Gandel, senior editor
The jobs numbers show the economy is headed in the wrong direction.
FORTUNE -- There's a lot of debate about whether or not we are better off than we were four years ago. But here's one thing that we can say for sure after this month's weak jobs report: Compared to a year ago, we are most certainly worse off.
Start with the headline number. In August, employers added 96,000 workers to their payrolls. That's actually better than a year ago, if only slightly. But that's only one month. What really matters is the trend, which is down.
QUIZ: Are you better off?
Over the past six months, the economy has added an average of 97,000 jobs a month. At this time a year ago, the six-month average was 136,000, meaning the economy was growing 40% faster than it is today.
For the whole year, the economy has added an average of 139,000 jobs a month. That's better, but still worse than a year ago w
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/09/07/worse-off-in-2011/?iid=HP_LN
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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