Thom Hartmann just said 25% of all retail jobs lost since 2007.

[Elwood P Dowd]

Did I hear that right?

[dhpgetsit]

1. The middle class is on the verge of collapse.

Without the manufacturing sector, how does the retail sector stand a chance?

[JJ]

3. retail ain't middle class

Retail jobs are mostly minimum wage, and minimum wage isn't up to poverty level, much less middle class.

[dhpgetsit]

5. Maybe you missed the body of my post.

Retail jobs are suffering as a result of the loss of manufacturing jobs and the collapse of the middle class in general.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. Here's what he's talking about

This is from the WSJ today.

Roughly one of every 10 Americans is employed in the retail sector. But since November 2007, about a fourth of all jobs that have been lost -- about 320,000 in all -- have been in retail.

That has helped push the country's overall unemployment rate to 6.5% through October, a figure many economists expect to grow to 8% or higher. The unemployment figures don't include about 209,000 retail workers whose full-time hours have been reduced to part-time, according to the Department of Labor.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122636403853215803.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. Thanks for the clarification. I was talking on the phone and thought he said

25% of all retail jobs.