According to Keynes a depression is “a chronic condition of subnormal activity for a considerable period without any marked tendency either towards recovery or towards collapse.”

The latest jobless figures from the USA  - visible in this chart – support the idea put forward by Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman that we are in a depression which has resulted in needlessly high unemployment of around 8.2%.

If it remains above 8% by the time of an election, that would historically spell defeat for the incumbent president.

Posted in: Infographic of the day, News