According to a piece on CNN, apparently in 1933 the unemployment rate peaked at 25.6 percent! We’re currently holding strong at 8.3 percent. Although it may feel dire at times, at least we’re not in the midst of the Great Depression.

Apparently FRED, an economic database compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, compiled a chart reflecting the staggering unemployment rate. Interestingly enough, the government only started gathering unemployment data in 1940 so prior to that year, economists created their own way to estimate the rate.

For instance, this number is compiled from Geoffrey H. Moore, an expert on business cycles. He founded the Economic Cycle Research Institute and also taught statistics at NYU to Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.

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