Glad we got the stimul;us passed
 

AP report, July 2, 2009:

WASHINGTON - 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.

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Imagine what unemployment would have been without the stimulus. Oh wait,
Obama's people claimed unemployment would cap out at about 8% if Congress
would enact the stimulus bill.

Right! It's no longer Bush's economy, just as it's no longer Bush's wars.



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I predict future happiness for Americans if they can
prevent the government from wasting the labors of
the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
- Thomas Jefferson