Should Americans brace themselves for European-style unemployment?

It's no secret we're poised for the Mother of All Jobless Recoveries. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke can't just spew that out, of course, but his remarks Monday -- and economists' estimates -- make the prognosis for the nation's unemployed morbidly grim.

Unemployment is a lagging indicator, meaning it won't bounce back until well after the recovery is underway. But even then, the consensus is that joblessness will improve at a glacially slow pace -- so woe unto all of us if the consensus is wrong and the outlook is even worse.