knoxville's jobless recovery

Back in '02-03, the US economy recovered from recession in a peculiar way. Granted, that particular recession (caused by the dot-com bubble) was short and relatively benign compared to the one we're still recovering from. The economy shrank a mere -0.3% (compared to the '09 recession of -5.1%) and unemployment peaked at 6.3% ('09 was 10.1%).

In the years following the dot-com bubble burst, unemployment stayed high. in fact, the number of employed actually shrank even though the unemployment rate held more-or-less steady. (How, you ask? Exodus from the labor force) basically, the economy picked up without new jobs, leading most to suggest technological improvements fueled the upturn (like automated services, among many others). Now in '11, "economic recovery" is almost 2 years old, and Knoxville may be hitting its stride. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Knoxville very own jobless recovery with mannequins! Why hire from a staffing firm when you can dress up ex-goody's employees that you found on Craigslist?