Economists are in disagreement whether the recession is hitting while-collar or blue-cllar workers the hardest. There are popular images of high technology workers and investment bankers unemployed and searching for jobs, but some studies show that low-level workers make up the majority of the unemployed. James Parrott, chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute, said both theories are right and that the recession has hit virtually every occupation and industrial sector.
See "Deciding Who Hurts Most in a Slump", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, May 18, 2003