Dr. Mike Walden, North Carolina Cooperative Extension economist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University, responds:

"I think what's different is that this recession really had its origin in the professional sector, if you will, not in manufacturing, but in the professional sector. In terms of finance - areas like finance - and real estate, and all those industries are related . . . finance and real estate, architecture, engineering. I think that's why you're seeing the professional sector being really hard hit during this recession. Of course, the shock here is that we've seen the professional area grow in terms of percentage of total jobs over time. We've seen increases in number of kids going to college because they know there are going to be high-paying professional jobs for them out there. And that's come right now to a screeching halt, and, indeed, there's been a pull back. I don't think that this is going to continue. I think that once the economy does recover, we will see professional jobs resume their very fast-paced growth. But there's no question right now that the professional sector certainly took a big, big hit."