Sep. 6--When we poke the psyche of the American worker on Labor Day weekend 2009, we're apt to hear "Ouch!"

It's tempting to say, "Aw, come on, it doesn't hurt that much."

Even at the worst-in-16-years unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, nine out of 10 of us who want jobs have them.

The vast majority of us live in relative comfort, eating plenty and enjoying the creature comforts of this great nation.

But, collectively, we ache for better times.

"People are recession-weary," said David Power, an insurance broker who visits many Midwest workplaces. "The mood I sense is still somewhat cautious. With the unemployment rate still rising, it creates uncertainty for many people."

Nearly two years into the longest recession since the Great Depression, we are so hungry for good economic news that we nibble at a daily stock index jump and try to call it a buffet.

We celebrate a monthly job-loss report that shows fewer jobs eliminated than the month before -- even though we're still losing more jobs than we're creating.

We trumpet the silver lining in the recession: That we've come to our spending senses and finally have pushed our national savings rate above zero.

But then we spill out unease to pollsters.

According to an August Gallup poll, one-third of us who are employed are worried about being laid off. One third of us say we're worried about having our wages cut. Nearly half of us fear benefit cuts.

The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. reports that two-thirds of employees say morale and motivation are suffering.

Adecco Group's August work force survey finds three-fourths of us are "unsatisfied with our career growth opportunities."

The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, after a comprehensive national survey of the unemployed, characterized job hunters as "shaken" and "traumatized."

"Everything I have built up over the past 15 years of my life is being chipped away," said one Heldrich poll respondent.

Executive recruiter William Wood doesn't need the perspective of national surveys to gauge our mood.

"We talk to all sides -- the hiring company, the employed and the job seeker. To a person, all seem unhappy," said Wood, a partner at Wood-Snodgrass Inc. in Overland Park.

"Companies talk about their revenue being down and the high cost of benefits going up. The employed worker is concerned about their pay being frozen and when the job cuts might hit them. And the unemployed wonder when they will find work."

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