Yes, I know. More half-empty stuff. But you look at the national employment trends and tell me how they might apply locally.

Total employment has flat-lined, leaving behind the worst situation in decades. Here’s another fun metric — 58 percent of Americans support the entire population.

And despite some upticks in manufacturing, the information sector is shrinking. Financial services, shrinking. Not good news for all of Charlotte’s white-collar workers.

Gets us right back to — what will be the new jobs engine for Mecklenburg? We all can’t drive CATS trains, streetcars, and buses.