Awesome news – the recession officially ended in June of 2009, making the “Great Recession” 18 months long. (That is the longest downturn since the Great Depression.)

While the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Committee came to that conclusion, a separate research panel said that the unemployment rate would not return to pre-recession levels until 2013.

Growth has been painfully slow, and virtually nonexistent up until this point. The very idea that the recession has ended should be insulting to those unemployed or underemployed.

There were some silver linings this summer, including better-than-expected housing numbers, but companies are still not hiring aggressively because of various concerns. The one period of the year that sees aggressive hiring, the holiday season, may not even reach pre-recession levels.

To add insult to injury, President Obama is planning on letting the Bush tax cuts expire, which would mean millions of dollars in investor cash would be yanked out of the sputtering economy, and into the hands of the bloated government. That isn’t exactly a good fiscal policy to inspire economic growth.

Students are the ones hurt most, since out of college their resumes are thin, and they are now competing with qualified employees who are willing to take entry-level positions amidst this recession this economic slowdown.