This graph explains itself fairly well.  It suggests at least two things: that the stimulus hasn’t worked, and that the economy isn’t going to be doing better anytime soon.  While fewer people are losing their jobs every month, we are still far away from breaking even in unemployment.  It will take even more job creation from there until we are able to shrink the unemployment rate.

What it doesn’t explain so well is the really frightening thing:

The current labor participation rate is getting lower—meaning that many of the people who can’t find jobs are simply not trying to find them anymore.  

The total number of jobs in the economy looks like this:

(H/T: Greg Mankiw; Innocent Bystanders)