U.S. job market shows ills of Europe

As the U.S. tries to dodge the fallout from Europe's debt crisis, some economists are reaching a troubling conclusion: The American labor market is looking more European than ever.

For years, Europe has struggled with high rates of long-term unemployment, youth joblessness and related issues that have slowed economic growth. These problems, especially in Spain, Italy and Greece, are among the factors that led to the Continent's debt crisis and brought it to the brink of recession.

Now the U.S.—which will issue its latest monthly labor-market snapshot on Friday—is exhibiting some of the same symptoms. More than two years after the economy officially emerged from recession, the unemployment rate remains stuck at 9%.

However, while the recent recession exposed these problems--and likely made them worse--it didn't create them. Many had been around for a decade or longer. "Something in the U.S. economy has changed since the beginning of the '90s,'" said Marcello Estevao, an economist for the International Monetary Fund. "Not enough jobs are being produced."

(Published by WSJ - November 28, 2011)