The Great Recession

What was the extent of the Great Recession In the U.S.? 

1.   It lasted from December, 2007 until June, 2009
         - this does not seem all that long

2.   Unemployment went from 5% to 10%
       - another way to look at this is that the "employment rate" fell from 95% to 90%. A better number would tell more. What was the median or mean length of unemployment? What percentage of the people who wanted to work were unemployed at some time during the recession? How many were in fear of losing their jobs? And, if the economy shrank by 4% and employment by 5.3%, were those who kept their jobs being more efficient? 

3.   The economy shrank by about 4% 
       - Overall that is not that bad. Americans had a good standard of living at 100%, so 96% must be not too bad. The real problem is that 4% is a gross figure. Some people must have gone down substantially more than 4% and that is who all the fuss is about.  We need a figure that shows what portion of the population lost, say, 25% of their income during that time, and for how long. 

First Post

           I am an economics amateur who has many questions and few answers on the subject. I will post questions, mostly suggested by my reading of other economic blogs. Feel free to answer any questions and post some of your own.