U of L Economist Says Recovery Continues

University of Louisville economist Dr. Paul Coomes says the country continues to climb out of the recession, an emergence he believes began in the summer of 2009.During an address to the Downtown Rotary Club of Louisville Thursday, Coomes scoffed at the notion that this recession is the worst downturn since the Great Depression.He says it's not even as bad as the recessions of 1975 and 1982. "During this recession, even at the worst of the recession, we have a higher percentage of adults working than we did in either of the two previous recessions, and it has to do mainly with females entering the labor force. Our economy has absorbed all of these people, but there are still so many people wanting to work, that drives the unemployment rate up. It's kind of ironic, we simultanously have a high unemployment rate and also a lot of people working," Coomes said.Coomes says Louisville's occupational tax revenues, a key source of income for Metro Government, are improving this year.You can hear all of Coomes' remarks by clicking on the player below.