Unemployment remains painfully high, economic activity is declining, uncertainty abounds.

Corporate consolidations and layoffs have produced painfully high vacancy rates in many cities.

Darvish bucked one final time, his back arched painfully high, then slowly he relaxed.

Proceeds will be used to equalize spending in schools statewide and for relief from a painfully high property tax.

He crossed the hall once more and began to climb the stairs, lifting his knees painfully high at each degree.

They say critics confuse the painfully high price of insurance in poor areas with discrimination by insurers.

Music was played at painfully high volume levels for hours on end, as a form of psychological torture.

Germany's fiercely independent central bank is famous for staring down outsiders when they urge it to reduce its painfully high interest rates.

The old ways have left Europe with a stagnant economy, marked by painfully high unemployment rates and an urgent need to go abroad to grow.

Pulolu screamed, his voice rising to a painfully high pitch.