The Unemployment Numbers are BAD, 9.5%

There is no getting around it, the numbers are bad. We are right around the double digit marker here.

This is a dark horse that is running against the Obama Administration. The other thing is that the Republicans can not run on the job mantra, just yet, when much of this demise was on their watch and is just continuing.

2010 the Obama Administration will have to own this, period. The stimulus package is either a go or bust, no other way around it. And as numbers continue like this, it means that homes are not being bought, malls are empty, and people are holding on to their money and spending only what is necessary.

It is, what it is.

Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy.

The Labor Department report, released Thursday, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they feel certain the economy is on solid ground.

June's payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected and average weekly earnings dropped to the lowest level in nearly a year.

However, the rise in the unemployment rate from 9.4 percent in May wasn't as sharp as the expected 9.6 percent. Still, many economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent this year, and keep rising into next year, before falling back.

All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.

If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994. read more here...

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