In cubicles, factories and stores these days, anxious workers are trying to ease each other's economic fears with something akin to, "Well, at least we still have a job."
Yet for many, that's becoming small comfort as more employers cut hours or hire only part-timers. People paid on commission, meanwhile, are suffering as sales dry up. And state workers around the country have been put on unpaid leaves.
These workers aren't counted in the unemployment rate, which hit 8.1 percent in February. They're not eligible for federal benefits that provide a safety net for the jobless. Yet their pain is real, and their reduced spending is a drag on the economy.
Call them the walking wounded of this deep recession: millions of workers whose incomes have fallen even as they manage to hold onto their jobs. Their shrunken pay has forced many of them to make hurtful sacrifices.
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