As if the jobless figures in this country weren’t already grim enough, here’s more depressing news: Another 452 of our fellow Americans, Lithuanians and Ukrainians now are out of work.

Unable to reach agreement on a new contract between owners and players, the National Basketball Association has canceled the first two weeks of its season. Just like that, the NBA’s multimillionaire, millionaire and semi-millionaire players became unemployed.

To their credit, American sports fans seem to be taking the prospect of weeks — or even an entire season — without pro basketball with an equanimity that borders on ennui. I’m not sure how Lithuanian and Ukrainian sports fans are handling it.

At my weekly tennis league, for instance, our conversation about the season being delayed lasted approximately 24 seconds before we switched to a lengthy discussion about whether Nancy Grace really deserved to continue on “Dancing With the Stars.”

The issues in this latest squabble between sports’ haves and have-mores may be too complicated for most of us. But, if I had to take a wild guess, I’d guess that they have something to do with money. Players probably want more of it. Management probably wants to give them less of it.

And I’m sure both sides have valid arguments. Except for the players.

The average salary of today’s NBA players reportedly is $5.15 million which, even by the standards of pro athletes’ salaries, seems adequate. The average salary in the National Football League, in comparison, is $1.9 million. (The basketball players’ union explains this differential by noting that football players are on the field for only half a game while basketball players may be forced to labor as long as 40 minutes a night).

And $5.15 million certainly sounds like a decent wage for an average player, even though many of them spent a year or more in college honing their skills and some didn’t see their first million until they were into their 20s.

To be fair, while the LeBrons and Carmelos of the NBA are making megamillions, plenty are settling for a million or two. And a few are paid only $473,604, which is the league minimum for scrubs who sit on the end of the bench and pick up the towels at the end of the game.

I certainly can sympathize with people who are out of work, though.

So if you just lost your $5.15 million a year job and are struggling to put food on your family’s table, please contact me and I’ll send you a list of the nearest soup kitchens.

Contact D.L. Stewart at dlstew_2000@yahoo.com