Hope amid the gloom

We can find gloom on this Labor Day.

Plenty of us have suffered as a result of the economic downturn. More than 6 million are getting unemployment benefits, and foreclosures are still growing. The jobless rate is at a 26-year high.

But optimism is the fuel by which America's economic engine runs.

Nationally, U.S. job losses in August were the smallest in a year -- what economists say is a sign of an improving, albeit fragile, labor market. Many economists believe the recession has ended or is nearing an end.

Locally, Granite City Steel is putting workers back on the payroll. A Tractor Supply Co. store is building in Belleville. Home sales are halting their slide.

Area business and employees know how tough this economy is. Yet opportunities exist as we find ways to reinvent our work and our workforce in the shadow of the worst recession since World War II.

Like Rosie the Riveter told us then: "We can do it!"

Happy Labor Day.