A painful recovery

With the Great Recession now over for seven years, how is job growth coming along in the world's wealthiest countries? Slow. In fact, it has been "painfully slow," according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

Labor markets have been held down by a "low-growth trap characterized by low investment, anemic productivity gains and weak job creation with stagnant wages." It also found that three-quarters of OECD countries are still running high levels of unemployment. For example, in Greece, France, Italy, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and Spain, the jobless rate remains in double digits. Millions of discouraged Americans have given up job searches and declared themselves disabled or retired. The report says that "even in countries where labor market slack has been absorbed, low quality jobs and a high level of labor market inequality are of concern."