The Empty Economy

I noticed this week while driving to work how much less traffic there is during the rush hours. I drive against the grain, so I'm used to seeing the opposite lane of traffic on I-405 thoroughly choked. This week the traffic heading into Seattle and Bellevue was fairly thin compared to usual. The only place it started backing up was around Kirkland where there is always a "Kirkland Crawl." When leaving work, the traffic was almost non-existent on the road. The opposite lane, usually choked up, was moving at a normal pace, even near Bellevue. I thought this might just be my own impression, so I asked around. Others I work with have noticed the same lack of traffic on the road. Is this an indication of the lack of employment? Or is it that people are trying to save money on gas? Maybe it's a combination of both. We now are free from the usual rush-hour car-pocalypse, but it may be a warning of a larger apocalypse...