It could be 2017 before the economy coughs up enough jobs for all the Americans looking for a paycheck, according to a grim new analysis of the recession by the Heritage Foundation.
And that five-year-long recovery is based on the economy adding as many jobs as it did in October--171,000--every month over the next 58 months, said analyst Rob Bluey.
"Americans could be waiting another five years for a return to normal employment," said Bluey, who added, "after nearly four years in office, President Obama has overseen the worst recovery since the 1960s."
He noted that unemployment is fractionally higher today than when Obama took office, and that employers have 4.2 million fewer workers on their payrolls than in December 2007.
What's more, Heritage analyst J.D. Foster said that when the president's 2008 campaign promise to add 3.5 million jobs is added to the 125,000 needed every month just to keep pace with population growth, the total should be 141.5 million jobs today, not the 133.8 that actually exist. As a result, he said, the Obama jobs deficit is 7.7 million.
But Foster holds out little hope that a re-elected Obama would push new policies to help a jobs creation revival. He said, "Seemingly bent on perpetuating joblessness, Obama and his allies are seeking to raise some of the most damaging taxes possible. They seek to raise tax rates on the investors who are needed to provide seed corn for new businesses and on small businesses that use this seed corn to spur innovation and job growth. Foolish in the best of times, raising these economically punishing taxes in the face of high unemployment is indefensible."
