Long lines, no jobs and waiting to see what happens next. That’s just a snapshot of the global economic meltdown. We are tracking reports in the United States, ABC News Australia, the BBC and Business Week.

In the U.S. claims for unemployment benefits have reached their highest levels in 26 years. Lets start with a local CBS television station in the U.S. Thousands of people lined up for a job at a job fair in Sacramento, California.

“... dressed for success and looking for work, almost anywhere, from the struggling self-employed to the laid off, to the completely out-of-work willing to do almost anything. Just a snapshot of the thousand of people lined up as early as 10 a.m. to get their name in for a job at the Sacramento Career Expo.” (CBS)

In Miami, Florida – another CBS television station reports 3,000 applicants are competing for a single position in another job fair in Hollywood Hotel, Florida. Making job fairs more like lotteries.

“The job fair kicks off at 6am they are expecting quite a crowd. The last time we went out to these job fairs we saw people handling these applications as they were winning lottery tickets...” (CBS)

Let’s get perspectives from other countries beginning with Australia’s ABC News. There, the global slowdown is taking a toll on a once thriving economy. Australia’s unemployment is the highest it’s been in a year. But Australia’s Federal Employment Minister Julia Gillard says it depends on how you look at it.

"The Government's always said that Australia won't be immune from the global financial crisis and it will affect our lives here," she said.
"Given the global financial crisis, and all of its consequences, including for this country, this unemployment rate of 4.4 percent is welcome news." (ABC News Australia)

There are other optimistic perspectives. Business Week asks, “Is the Job Panic Justified?”

“There are forces at play that will eventually pull the economy out of its free fall. The key is smart government policy that sets politics aside.”
“It must provide a combination of short-term consumer stimulus and long-term investments without stepping over the line into wasteful and innovation-stifling industrial policy.” (BusinessWeek)

 And that brings us to the BBC – whose economics editor says...

“...nobody quite knows how severe the world economy will be affected by the financial crisis. The next few months will determine whether the unemployment story is the nastiest in decades.” (BBC)

So, do you think it’s necessary to be concerned about the job market? How long do you think it will take for the market to stabilize? We invite you to share your opinion and check out our sources on Newsy.com.