Ladies and Gentlemen, the City Council of Detroit, Michigan, in Session

Yes, this is real. No, it is not acting or staged. From April 11, 2008.
As of May, 2010, the official unemployment rate in Detroit was 14.8%.

50 Statistics About the U.S. Economy That are Almost Too Crazy to Believe

39.68 million Americans are now on food stamps, which represents a new all-time record. But things look like they are going to get even worse. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting that enrollment in the food stamp program will exceed 43 million Americans in 2011

Structural vs Cyclical Unemployment

Compare the charts during the two recessions and recoveries for job growth by industry.

50 Statistics About the U.S. Economy That are Almost Too Crazy to Believe

According to EconomicPolicyJournal.com, 32 U.S. states have already run out of funds to make unemployment benefit payments and so the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed