Extended Unemployment Benefits

2009 October Unemployment Numbers Higher

The October 2009 unemployment rate jumped to 10.3 %, the highest rate since 1983. A total of 109,000 jobs were lost last month. Even as Republicans in Congress and President Obama disagreed on whether the president’s policies will help bring unemployment under control, the president signed legislation extending unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks.
The president said the extension of unemployment benefits will not add to the federal deficit and will create jobs.
According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the majority of job losses were in manufacturing, retail, and construction.
Although President Obama had predicted unemployment would rise to more than 10%, that occurred sooner than expected. Republicans were quick to criticize the president. House Minority Leader Steve Boehner, Republican from Ohio, said President Obama’s $787 billion dollar stimulus program has caused "double digit unemployment." He said it has brought on a "jobless" economic recovery.

Congressman Boehner noted Democrats said President Obama’s stimulus program would "create jobs immediately." He said Democrats claimed the unemployment rate would not go above 8%. He noted after President Obama signed the stimulus program, 3 million jobs were lost. He said Americans have asked "where are the jobs?" but have only gotten more and more spending and debt.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele noted that in the November 2009 elections, two Democrats lost their races for governor. He said this pointed out the fact that many Americans do not trust the President’s policies. He called the election of Republican governors in New Jersey and Virginia a "referendum" on President Obama’s policies. Representative Kevin Brady, a Republican from Texas, said the increase in unemployment is further "proof" that the president’s policies are failures.

Other Democrats and President Obama disagreed with the Republicans. President Obama said although patience and time will be required, he is "confident" the American economy will recover. He has often said the economy is in recovery, but unemployment is often the last area to improve in an economic downturn.

Christina Romer, chairwoman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, said the rise in unemployment contain signs of both labor market weakness and hope. He noted that the temporary job market increased by 33,700 jobs in October. He noted that market is one of the first to traditionally see job during an economic recovery. He noted more people were hired in the automobile market. Nevertheless, she said having double digit unemployment is a "stark reminder" of the work still to be done.
Although Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the increase in joblessness was something that could have been forecast it is, nevertheless, an "unacceptable" situation. She said the Administration is working hard to improve the economy for millions of Americans. She noted many citizens want and need work but can’t find it. Solis also noted that before Obama became president, the country was losing far more jobs per month–700,000.
Other Democrats said the government will have to take even more action to improve the economy, including working on American infrastructure.