'Misery' Levels Hit 28-Year-High in US

MoneyNews.com

June 20, 2011

 

The latest “Misery Index” shows that Americans are more miserable than they’ve been in the past 28 years, economically speaking.

The monthly index, an unofficial measurement created by economist Arthur Okun back in the 1970s using the simple premise to total the inflation and unemployment rates, is now 62 percent higher than when President Barack Obama first took office in 2009.

 

The May index is at 12.7 (9.1 percent unemployment and 3.6 percent annualized inflation). That compares to an all-time high of 21.98 in June 1980, and a historical low of 2.97 in July 1953. In 2011, it has inched up every month since January’s reading of 10.63.

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