In November 2012, 350,000 Americans dropped out of the work force. Here are some quotes from the media about this truly dismal situation:
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The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 has been passed by the House and reported out of committee in the Senate. In an October 18 letter, a group of ten public employee unions and public interest groups pushed for the Senate to amend the bill to lower the maximum amount that the Department of Defense can pay for contractor compensation. The amount is currently $763,029 and the proposal would reduce it to $230,700, a seventy percent reduction.
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October 1940. Distributing surplus commodities, St. Johns, Ariz.. Russell Lee / Library of Congress

The Census Bureau has released its latest annual report titled Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011. We will be breaking down the data as we always do so keep an eye on this site.
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This slide show consists of graphs using government data to illustrate the economic downturn in the last several years.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its monthly report on employment and unemployment in the United States. Overall, the May data shows little sign that the economy is improving. The prospects for the long-term unemployed remain poor.

By the numbers:

• Nominal unemployment rate: 8.2 percent
• Number of unemployed Americans: 12,720,000
• Average weeks unemployed: 39.7
• Number of Americans unemployed over 27 weeks: 5,411,000
• Workers discouraged and not looking: 830,000

And, here are the current unemployment rates by sex, ethnicity and education:

• Men over age 20: 7.8 percent
• Women over age 20: 7.4 percent
• Whites: 7.4 percent
• Blacks: 13.6 percent
• Hispanic / Latino: 11.0 percent
• No high school diploma: 13.0 percent
• High school diploma only: 8.1 percent
• 4 yr degree of higher: 3.9 percent