The latest figures show that jobless claims have dipped, suggesting the economy is on the mend but don't start celebrating yet. Dig deeper into the US economy and you'll see that there is a real sickness there that's hard to fix.

As Tom Raum at Associated Press reports, high joblessness could be the new normal. In the past, the auto and construction industry led the US out of recession but that's not going to happen now with the carnage in Detroit and the surplus of new and foreclosed homes. Furthermore, consumers aren't spending which means companies won't have enough coming in to start hiring. And in any case, the banks aren't lending so businesses can't expand.

That means joblessness will be the new normal. "This Great Recession is an inflection point for the economy in many respects. I think the unemployment rate will be permanently higher, or at least higher for the foreseeable future," Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com told Raum.

Things are so bad that an email being sent around the world talks about the "new pledge of allegiance". Here it is this in this report: "The new American Pledge of Allegiance: children, I pledge allegiance to America’s debt, and to the Chinese government that lends us money. And to the interest, for which we pay, compoundable, with higher taxes and lower pay until the day we die."

There are no quick fixes here. And recovery is a long way off.