It’s a measure of just how terrible the economy has become that a loss of more than a half-million jobs in just one month can be widely seen as a good sign. The house is still burning down, but not quite as fast.

I can understand why people are relieved that we no longer seem to be hurtling toward a depression, but beyond that I see very little to be happy about.

The economy is in shambles. Nearly 540,000 jobs were lost in April, a horrifying number. The unemployment rate rose to 8.9 percent. Even the most optimistic observers expect the job losses to continue, although, hopefully, at a slower pace. The unemployment rate is expected to keep on climbing, like some monster from the movies, toward double digits.

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Poverty and homelessness are increasing and, as Lawrence Mishel, the president of the Economic Policy Institute, said during an interview this week, “There are a whole lot of people who are going to be economically desperate for many years.”

Joblessness is like a cancer in the society. The last thing in the world that you want is for it to metastasize. And that’s what’s happening now. Don’t tell me about the stock market. Don’t tell me about the banks and their perpetual flimflammery. Tell me whether poor and middle-income families can find work. If they can’t, the country’s in trouble.

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