Like a cold front on the weather map, everyone saw it coming. But that didn't mean that we weren't caught without our coats on today when US unemployment broke into double digits: 10.2% of the American labour force is now without a job. Most forecasts weren't expecting this sort of heavy weather until early next year, but a shrinking overall workforce "“ probably caused by discouraged workers dropping out of the hunt for new jobs "“ drove up the unemployment percentage.

After last week's news of growth in the US economy for the first time in nearly a year, what gives? The truth is, it's hard to say. Economists aren't exactly sure why the labor market is lagging despite the growth. One theory is that, with productivity still increasing "“ it...