Have you been experiencing what economists call a "state of disequilibrium" lately? Feeling spooked by the endless rounds of layoffs?
Join the club. Everyone is having trouble understanding an economy that supposedly is on the road to recovery, yet keeps destroying jobs. Since March 2001, 2.1 million jobs have been lost in the U.S. New work, meanwhile, can be hard to find, especially for educated employees such as safety and health pros. Of almost two million workers who have been unemployed for at least half a year, one in five is a former executive, manager, or professional, according to a study by the National Employment Law Project.