A big part of the job market problem

Greg Mankiw looks at unemployment and sees something scary. I agree:

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He observes:

This recession looks very different, and much more troubling, than those in the recent past.

What is different? Look at employment in the construction industry:

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From the mid-1990s through 2006, construction employment accelerated and grew much more quickly than the previous trend. You can see previous recessions in the construction employment data–it takes anywhere from 2-3 years for construction employment to...