Ode to Labor Day from the 26.3 million Americans without jobs

Before you head out to a picnic or your backyard hammock on Labor Day, consider the 26.3 million people in the country without jobs and what today might mean to them.

The American worker should be celebrated today, and so should the American worker who wants a job but can't find one. Along with relaxing and enjoying a day off, workers should try to do something to help their out-of-work brethen.

And there are plenty of us out there. I'm one of the 9.1 million "underemployed" workers who the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies as "persons working part time for economic reasons." We're working part time because that's all we can get. Either our hours have been cut back or we can't find a full-time job.

That's on top of the 14.9 million people listed as unemployed, a 9.7% national unemployment rate that is at a 26-year high.