Unemployment rate decreasing in Summit County? You must be kidding. If you're looking for the “real” unemployment rate here in the county, you have to realize it's much more complex than the number of people not working who are looking for a job as a percentage of the population.

You have to include the underemployed, those who are working less than 40 hours a week and the discouraged workers who have simply given up trying to find a job. In my opinion, doubling the government's official headline rate of 6 percent in Summit County in December 2011 should be closer to 11 or 12 percent.

Unless those individuals using the food banks and community dinners are just figments of my imagination and someone's double counting, there's a major employment problem here in Summit County, especially among those whose livelihood is tied to the resort industry.

I truly hope I'm wrong, but watching the numbers constantly creeping up on Food Bank Days and Community Dinner nights, listening to stories from individuals who are simply discouraged and are giving up, discovering individuals who call their vehicles home — I find that 6 percent rate cited as naive.

Things will get better. They usually do in America. Until then, donations to the local food banks and Summit Cares will be most welcome.