There is no such thing as jobless recovery. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves. Once the stimulus is finished being wasted, we will see where the recovery stands. I seriously doubt it is possible to have sustained economic growth with ~10% of your labor force unemployed or underemployed. And that 10% of the workforce isn't going anywhere. They spend money, own homes, have savings, have children, etc just like the rest of America. For people to act like unemployed are all of a sudden sub-American citizens is a major mistake.
10% only? That is the U3 number, if you are baby-sitting 2 hrs a week, u are counter as employed. If u have given up active job search or taking a break from it, you are not counted either. If u included all, I won't be surprised there is 30% unemployed or under-employed in many parts of the country http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2008/06/unemployment-reporting-a-modest-proposal-u3-u6/ http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/u3-and-u6-unemployment-during-great-depression