Benefits Think News You Can Use: Misery index up … so keep the low-cost benefits coming

Published September 8, 2008 1:08 PM EDT Updated September 8, 2008 1:20 PM EDT 1 Min Read

I’ve heard of unemployment numbers, costs being “indexed” for inflation, and even poll’s predictions for America’s happiness or unhappiness at any given time, but apparently a misery index exists as well.
According to new data from the Campaign for America’s Future, new jobless numbers are at a five-year high (6.1%) and the misery index is hovering at 11.7%, the highest since 1991 and the first time in double digits (as of June 2008) since 1993.

“Honest people who work hard for a living are struggling to make ends meet,” said Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future. “The misery is felt at the gas pump and the grocery store and it’s getting worse, not better.”

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