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Unemployment rate rises to 9.8 percent
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| Contributor | Jason |
| Last Edited | Jason Dec 04, 2010 06:35am |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Friday, December 3, 2010 02:35:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent as the economy added a surprisingly weak 39,000 jobs in November, underscoring the halting nature of the lackluster recovery — and placing the stark political challenges facing President Barack Obama into sharp relief as he heads into second half of his first term.
The employment figure announced Friday, which came in well below expectations of a gain of around 150,000 jobs, represented a sharp drop from last month’s jobs increase, which was revised up to 172,000 from 151,000. Obama is to speak about the numbers at 11:15 a.m.
The November figure punctured rising hopes that the economy was hitting a higher gear following stronger reports in recent days on consumer confidence and weekly unemployment claims. The weak number could increase pressure on Republicans in Congress to extend unemployment benefits set to expire soon for two million out of work Americans.
But Republicans also pounced on the number, declaring it a clear reason to extend all of the Bush administration tax cuts to boost hiring by small businesses. |
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