By W.E. Linde

RICHMOND, Va. — Army recruiter Sgt. Mark Manarin recently switched on his office laptop, opened Internet Explorer, and clicked on the Fox Business link as he sipped his coffee. As soon as the page loaded, he grimaced.

“Shit,” he muttered. The unemployment rate had just dropped to 6.9 percent.

Manarin has been watching the national economic numbers with trepidation for over a month. According to him, things are really starting to get bad.

“When the economy went south earlier this year, and the jobless rate went through the roof, well, it was like Christmas,” said the recruiter, a wistful sparkle in his eye. “I had guys as old as 35 walking in and asking if the Army would take them.

“I even turned away a few. Not many, but some,” Manarin said.

He then looked dejected and pointed at his laptop screen.

“I expected the unemployment rate to be higher than eight percent for the rest of the year,” he complained. “I had Recruiter of the Year in the bag! Now, I guess that fat Air Force S…