Originally Posted by Bill O'Rights

Our (the U.S.) economy is not booming. The cost of raw materials continues to rise, while productivity remains low.

Unemployment figures do not mean a damn thing. They are calculated based upon the number of people that are enrolled for unemployment benefits. Those benefits expire, and enrolees are dropped from the tally. Also, you have to factor in the fact that as more and more relatively well paying manufacturing jobs are moved offshore, those that were employed in those jobs are now having to resort to accepting much lower paying positions.