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White House economist Alan Krueger says the budget the president will release Monday forecasts the unemployment rate will average 8.9 percent in 2012. But he says that estimate was made in mid-November and is already “stale and out of date.”

So the White House plans to issue a new forecast projecting the creation of 2 million jobs this year. That could bring the national unemployment rate down to about 8 percent.

But the sunnier projection is based in part on whether Congress passes the president’s economic agenda, including elements of his jobs bill that have been previously rejected by lawmakers.

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Applications fell 50,000, the biggest drop in the seasonally adjusted figure in more than six years, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped to 379,000. That’s the second-lowest such figure in more than three years.

A department spokesman cautioned that volatility at this time of year is common. Applications had jumped two weeks ago, largely because companies laid off thousands of temporary workers hired for the holidays.

Still, when weekly applications fall consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to push down the unemployment rate.

“This continues a clear downshift in claims,” said Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics.

Shepherdson suggested that stronger hiring should follow.

Hiring improved in the second half of 2011. In December, employers added 200,000 jobs. That marked the sixth straight month in which the economy added at least 100,000 jobs. And the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, a three-year low.

For all of 2011, the economy added 1.6 million jobs. That was up sharply from 940,000 in 2010. Economists say they expect roughly 1.9 million more jobs to be added this year, according to a survey by The Associated Press.

Still, the job market has a long way to go before it fully recovers from the damage of the Great Recession, which wiped out 8.7 million jobs. More than 13 million people remain unemployed. Millions more have given up looking for work and so are no longer counted as unemployed.

The overall number of people receiving benefits, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, rose. More than 7.8 million people received benefits in the final week of last year. They include about 3.6 million people covered by extended-benefit programs begun during the recession.

The manufacturing sector remains a bright spot. Factory output jumped 0.9 percent in December, the Federal Reserve said this week. That was the sharpest monthly gain in a year. Manufacturing gained 225,000 jobs last year, the most since 1997.

The pickup in hiring reflects stronger economic growth. The economy likely grew at an annual rate of about 3 percent in the final three months of last year, economists estimate.

That would be a sharp improvement over the 1.8 percent annual growth rate in the July-September quarter. Rising consumer spending is thought to be fueling much of the gain in the current quarter.

Even so, economists worry that growth could slow in the first half of 2012. Europe is almost certain to fall into recession because of its financial troubles.

And wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. The department said in a separate report that average inflation-adjusted hourly earnings dropped 0.9 percent last year.

Without more jobs and higher pay, consumers might have to cut back on spending. That would weigh down growth next year. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

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The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009. The rate has dropped for four straight months. But black unemployment rose again from 15.5 to 15.8 percent overall and from 39.6 to 42.1 among African-American teens.

The hiring gains cap a six-month stretch in which the economy generated 100,000 jobs or more in each month. That hasn’t happened since April 2006.

“There is no question that today’s employment report is a positive and there is also no question that the pace of job growth has accelerated of late,” said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at BTIG LLC, a brokerage firm

A better job market is a positive sign for President Barack Obama, who is bound to face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any sitting president since World War II. Unemployment was 7.8 percent when Obama took office in January 2009.

Still, the level may matter less to his re-election chances if the rate continues to fall. History suggests that presidents’ re-election prospects hinge less on the unemployment rate itself than on the rate’s direction during the year or two before Election Day.

For all of 2011, the economy added 1.6 million jobs, better than the 940,000 added in 2010. The unemployment rate averaged 8.9 percent last year, down from 9.6 percent the previous year.

Economists forecast that the job gains will top 2.1 million this year.

The December report painted a picture of a broadly improving job market. Average hourly pay rose, providing consumers with more income to spend. The average work week lengthened, a sign that business is picking up and companies may soon need more workers.

And hiring increased across most major industries.

Manufacturing added 23,000 jobs, as did the health care industry. Transportation and warehousing added 50,000 jobs. Retailers added 28,000 jobs. Even the beleaguered construction industry added 17,000 workers.

Economists cautioned that some of the gains reflected temporary hiring for the holiday season. The government adjusts the figures to account for those seasonal factors, but doesn’t always fully account for them.

The gains in transportation and warehousing, for example, reflected a strong increase in hiring for couriers and messengers. That could stem from a big jump in online shopping over the holidays, the department said.

The nation’s work force, which includes both people working and those searching for jobs, shrank slightly last months and is little changed from this spring. That’s a concern because a strengthening job market normally draws more applicants.

The work force has declined by about 160,000 over the past two months, one reason the unemployment rate has fallen.

“You have to take that unemployment rate decline with a grain of salt when you look at the declines in the labor force,” said Marisa DiNatale, an economist at Moody’s Analytics.

The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching for jobs. Discouraged workers who have given up on looking are not included in the rate.

And some of those who are counted as employed are working part time, but want full-time work.

When including those groups, the broader “underemployment” rate was 15.2 percent. That’s down from 15.6 percent the previous month, but still high. The figure has dropped for three straight months.

And the job market has a long way to go to recover from the Great Recession. The nation has 6 million fewer jobs that it did in December 2007, when the recession began.

More jobs and higher pay are crucial to helping the economy grow. They could enable shoppers to increase spending, which fuels 70 percent of economic activity.

The economy likely grew at an annual rate of above 3 percent, a healthy pace.

A more robust hiring market coincides with other positive data that show the economy ended the year with some momentum.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to levels last seen more than three years ago. Holiday sales were solid. And November and December were the strongest months of 2011 for U.S. auto sales.

Many businesses say they are ready to step up hiring in early 2012 after seeing stronger consumer confidence and greater demand for their products.

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Far fewer people are seeking unemployment benefits than just three months ago – a sign that layoffs are falling sharply.

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The number of people applying for benefits fell last week to 366,000, the fewest since May 2008. If the number stayed that low consistently, it would likely signal that hiring is strong enough to lower unemployment.

The unemployment rate is now 8.6 percent. The last time applications were this low, the rate was 5.4 percent.

The big question is whether fewer layoffs will translate into robust hiring. It hasn’t happened yet, even though job growth has been rising consistently each month.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment applications, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped last week to 387,750. That’s the lowest four-week since July 2008. The four-week average has declined in 10 of the past 12 weeks.

“Labor market conditions have taken a turn for the better in recent weeks,” Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients. “Payroll growth should improve in the coming months.”

Applications for unemployment benefits are a measure of the pace of layoffs. Job cuts have fallen sharply since the recession. Employers have been hiring at only a modest pace. But when applications fall below 375,000 – consistently – that usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The downward trend suggests that companies are cutting fewer workers as the economy picks up. It also comes as Congress is wrangling over whether to extend emergency unemployment benefits, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Growth may top 3 percent in the final three months of this year, according to many economists. That would be up from 2 percent in the July-September quarter.

Other recent reports suggest the job market is improving a bit. In the past three months, net job gains have averaged 143,000 a month. That compares with an average of 84,000 in the previous three months.

In November, employers added 120,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent from 9 percent. That was the lowest unemployment rate in 2 1/2 years. But about half that decline occurred because many of the unemployed gave up looking for work. When people stop looking for a job, they’re no longer counted as unemployed.

Employers posted fewer jobs in October than in the previous month, the government said Tuesday, though the decline was modest.

Job openings have risen by about 35 percent since the recession officially ended in June 2009. But they’re still about 25 percent below pre-recession levels.

About 6.7 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. About 2 million will lose their benefits by mid-February if the emergency program expires.

Lawmakers differ over how long benefits should last. The House passed a Republican bill Tuesday that would renew emergency aid but reduce the maximum duration to 59 weeks from the current 99 weeks.

Democrats want to keep the full 99 weeks. The measure is part of broader legislation in the Democratic-led Senate that would also extend a Social Security tax cut.

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Over the past decade, the share of black households ranking among the poorest poor – those earning less than $15,000 – climbed from 20 percent to 26 percent, according to census figures released Thursday. Other racial and ethnic groups posted smaller increases. During the same period, the percentage of African-Americans making $200,000 or more a year was unchanged at 1.1 percent, even after the Great Recession.

Meanwhile, in a reversal of the Great Migration that once pushed blacks to flee Southern racism for economic opportunity in northern cities, many affluent blacks are returning to the South. Incomes and black populations have grown in the last decade in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas and Miami.

David Lamothe, associate general counsel for a major bank in Charlotte, grew up in New York City with parents who immigrated from Haitian poverty and climbed into the middle class. Now he is associate general counsel for a major bank in Charlotte, where he lives with his pediatrician wife and their three children, ages 8 to 14.

He is acutely aware of differences in the dynamic of today’s black community.

“Growing up, when we went to a party, it was all black kids, and we had no idea how much money their parents made. Everybody went to the same party. My best friend lived in the projects. My kids don’t have that,” said Lamothe. “There’s not much opportunity for them to see those kids (from low-income families). There’s more stratification.”

Despite some gains for middle-class blacks, African-Americans on average last year still had rising poverty and worsening economic situations compared with whites. The mostly suburban counties where blacks had growing and higher-than-average income make up about 19 percent of the black population. That’s compared with 45 percent of blacks who lived in urban counties and small towns where black incomes fell relative to whites.

Blacks were more likely than other groups to live in neighborhoods with poverty rates of 40 percent or more. Roughly one in nine of them did.

Lamothe’s response is to make sure his children recognize their humble roots.

“I stress to them, just because somebody pushes a broom doesn’t make you any better than them. You have family members on both sides who do that kind of job. You also have family who have been very fortunate professionally, but that doesn’t make us better than anybody else.”

Still, a gap remains between black families who live in different neighborhoods, attend different schools and live different lives.

“Other than skin color, they don’t really resemble you,” Lamothe said.

Yet there is still a psychic glue that bonds black people of all incomes together, said Blair L.M. Kelley, a history professor at North Carolina State University. The institution of the black church remains strong, she said, as does a shared sense of responsibility.

“There’s such a long-term ethos in African-American thought about giving back,” Kelley said.

“We all have someone who is struggling – a sister, a cousin,” she said. “As much as you are prospering, you are surely related to someone who needs a check from you. And you will give it to them. None of us are disconnected from government workers or the working poor or people struggling with the criminal justice system. You can be doing well, but you don’t forget it because it’s part of your everyday life.”

Roderick Harrison, a Howard University sociologist and former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau, said that the recent census data showing the success of some blacks could give ammunition to people who claim that black poverty is more a result of character flaws than societal structures that have been shaped by discrimination.

He said that among some segments of the population, discussion of racial disparities “quite often is characterized as playing the race card, when you should be working harder or staying in school longer or making better life choices.”

William H. Frey, a Brookings Institution demographer who did a broad analysis of the race and income data, said the changes could pose challenges to courting the traditional black vote.

Obama is pushing a re-election theme of middle-class renewal, painting Republican reluctance to raise taxes as protecting the wealthy at the expense of average families.

“The Democratic Party will surely gain consistent support from these new black suburbanites, but the active support for traditional black issues like civil rights may take a back seat,” Frey said, citing issues such as schools, housing and public safety that may eclipse civil rights.

Lamothe said he was elated when Barack Obama became the first black president, and things like universal health care appeal to him and his wife. But he dislikes some of Obama’s recent statements about the wealthy.

“It’s like now I’m the enemy,” said Lamothe, who describes himself as a social liberal and fiscal conservative.

“I’m OK with saying those who have more have a responsibility to help out those who need a hand. If I got to pay a little more in taxes I may not like it, but I’ll grin and bear it. What I don’t like it is, `They’re getting over and not paying their fair share.’”

“Somehow me working hard and being successful, I’ve gotten over? I got over because I worked hard for it.”

African-Americans have overwhelmingly supported liberal policies since Democratic President Lyndon Johnson pushed through civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

Could Lamothe see himself voting for a Republican?

“Oh, hell no,” he said.

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November’s sharp drop in the unemployment rate shows that jobs are finally moving in the right direction and suggests the economy is on firmer footing as the country heads into a presidential election year.

The Labor Department reported the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent in November from 9 percent the month before, a 2 1/2 year low.

That’s still high unemployment by historical standards. And lots of problems still lurk – from Europe’s debt crisis to congressional gridlock to the tens of millions of Americans still out of work or otherwise feeling economic distress. Furthermore, part of the improvement came because 300,000 people stopped their job searches and were no longer counted as unemployed.

But Friday’s report, combined with other recent economic data showing advances in manufacturing and consumer spending, could give Obama momentum for the re-election campaign.

The White House and congressional Democrats were quiet in showing any enthusiasm they might have felt, instead using the new figures to step up criticism of anti-tax Republicans for blocking measures they said could help create even more jobs. Those include an extension of an expiring Social Security payroll tax cut that largely benefits the middle class.

“The unemployment rate went down,” Obama said. “And despite some strong headwinds this year, the American economy has now created in the private sector jobs for the past 21 months in a row. That’s nearly 3 million new jobs in all, and more than half a million over the last four months.”

Said House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut: “Today’s unemployment numbers, while encouraging, simply underscore the urgency for Congress to address the top issue facing American families- jobs.”

Republicans were publicly unimpressed with the jobs report, insisting Obama hadn’t done enough and emphasizing that the jobless rate was still higher than when he took office in January 2009, when it stood at 7.7 percent.

“Any job creation is welcome news, but the jobless rate in this country is still unacceptable. Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above 8 percent,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

That view was echoed on the campaign trail.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in a Fox News interview, acknowledged that the report was good news but said it wouldn’t help Obama politically. “This is the slowest recovery we’ve seen since (President Herbert) Hoover,” Romney said. “He’s going to have a hard time putting perfume on this pig.” Hoover held office from 1929 to early 1933, at the outset of the Great Depression.

Despite stimulus measures by the Obama administration, Congress and the Federal Reserve, unemployment has remained high, peaking at 10.1 percent in October 2009 and staying around 9 percent for most of 2011.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Republican seeking Obama’s job, noted that a major part of the sharp drop in the unemployment rate was “not because entrepreneurs were creating new jobs” but because some 300,000 Americans “have simply given up looking for work.”

“The Obama model of class warfare, government takeovers in the economy and creating fear and uncertainty for job-creators have failed,” Gingrich asserted.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., made a similar point about discouraged jobless workers and said, “My heart breaks as we approach the holidays for American families who have been abandoned by this president so that he can implement his radical agenda.”

The president didn’t try to take credit for the lower figures.

Asked about Obama’s measured response, White House press secretary Jay Carney said: “We don’t make much out of one month’s numbers. We look for trends, and we know we have an enormous amount of work to do. 8.6 percent unemployment is way too high.”

Still, “there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel” for gloomy Democrats, said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University. “It’s good news, but it’s the kind of thing you have to rejoice about quietly. You don’t want to hear the champagne corks popping. There’s still so many people unemployed.”

But Baker said that if Obama can demonstrate a “reasonable decline over time” in the jobless rate, people might give him the benefit of the doubt. “It doesn’t have to get to historical lows to convince people that you’re on the right track.”

No president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has been re-elected with a jobless rate higher than 8 percent. Roosevelt won re-election in 1936 with a rate of 16.6 percent, and again in 1940 with a rate of 14.6 percent – but joblessness was on the way down from a peak of around 25 percent.

The jobless rate peaked at 10.6 percent during the brutal 16-month 1981-82 recession while Ronald Reagan was president. But on Election Day 1984 it had fallen to 7.2 percent.

Obama used a joint appearance with former President Bill Clinton on Friday to renew his call to a fractured Congress to extend and expand the cut in the payroll tax cut that finances Social Security and Medicare. The tax cut, due to expire at the end of the year, affects more than 160 million Americans.

Republicans favor extending the tax cut, but have blocked Democratic attempts to do so by paying for it with a new tax on households with more than $1 million in annual taxable income.

With polls showing most Americans favor higher taxes on the wealthy to help bring down soaring budget deficits, Obama and congressional Democrats are portraying Republicans as defenders of the wealthy at the expense of the middle class – a political theme they’re sure to carry into the election year.

The jobs report comes during a week that saw solid stock market gains, including a near-500-point Dow Jones industrials rise on Wednesday, all potential good news for Obama.

“Let’s say the stock market goes up another 500 or 600 points, and unemployment goes down below 8 percent by Election Day. That could allow for a big Obama surge,” said Thomas Cronin, a presidential historian at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

But that “if” is a big one.

The prospects of significantly bringing down the jobless rate to pre-recession levels anytime soon “remain slim,” suggests University of Maryland business economist Peter Morici. “The economy must add 13.1 million jobs over the next three years-364,000 each month-to bring unemployment down to 6 percent.”

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November’s jobless rate was the lowest recorded since March 2009. The rate fell partly because more workers got jobs, but also because about 315,000 workers dropped out of the labor force, and the jobless rate counts only people who are actively looking for work.

While Labor Department’s numbers are encouraging, they come with something of an asterisk.

Unemployment benefits are believed to have one of the most stimulative effects on the economy, since recipients of these benefits are likely to spend all of the money they receive quickly and so pump more spending through the economy.

“They say businesses are refusing to look at résumés from the unemployed,” said Esther Perry, 59, of Bedford, Mass., who participated in a recent report on unemployed workers put together from USAction, a liberal coalition. “What do you think my chances are? Once unemployment runs out, I don’t know what I will do.”

Read the full article at The New York Times.

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The number of students recieiving subsidized lunch rose 17 percent since the 2006, according to Department of Agriculture data gathered by the New York Times. Eleven states had four-year increases of 25 percent or more.

“These are very large increases and a direct reflection of the hardships American families are facing,” said Benjamin Senauer, a University of Minnesota economist who studies the meals program, adding that the surge had happened so quickly “that people like myself who do research are struggling to keep up with it.”

Read more at the New York Times.

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 390,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest since April.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $43.1 billion in September, its lowest point of the year, the Commerce Department said. Foreign sales of American-made autos, airplanes and heavy machinery pushed exports to an all-time high.

The data suggest layoffs are easing and the economy grew slightly better over the summer than the government had estimated a month ago.

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Stocks rose in early-morning trading, one day after the market tumbled over concerns that Europe’s debt crisis could worsen.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 46 points.

The reports “are modestly strong relative to expectations – encouraging confidence that the economy is gaining a bit of momentum,” said Pierre Ellis, an analyst at Decision Economics.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have declined in three of the past four weeks, the Labor Department said. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 400,000, also the lowest point since April.

The downward trend in applications suggests businesses are laying off fewer workers. Still, applications need to consistently drop below 375,000 to signal sustained job gains. They haven’t been at that level since February.

“The labor market is still weak and quite stagnant but there are hopeful signs of some modest improvement,” said Steve Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.

In September, exports increased 1.4 percent to a record $180.4 billion, reflecting a big increase in shipments of U.S. made autos and auto parts, the Commerce Department said. Imports were up a smaller 0.4 percent to $223.5 billion. Oil imports slowed after huge gains earlier in the year.

The deficit has narrowed for the last three months.

Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the lower trade deficit in September could boost growth in the July-September quarter to an annual rate of 2.8 percent, up from the government’s initial estimate of 2.5 percent.

Still, Europe’s debt crisis could push that region into a recession next year, which could reduce demand for American exports and slow U.S. growth.

A higher deficit acts as a drag on economic growth because it means fewer jobs for American workers.

The outlook for hiring has been mixed in recent months. The economy added only 80,000 jobs in October, the fewest in four months.

But the government also said last week that employers added more jobs in August and September than it had initially reported, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9 percent.

A separate report this week showed that employers advertised more jobs in September than at any other point in the past three years. That’s a positive sign for future hiring, since most companies typically take one to three months to fill vacant positions.

Still, the unemployment rate has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years, and the Federal Reserve said last week that it is not expected to fall significantly through the end of next year.

The number of people receiving unemployment aid under regular state programs dropped 92,000 to 3.62 million in the week that ended Oct. 29. That doesn’t include more than 3 million who are receiving extended benefits under an emergency program paid for by the federal government.

All told, more than 6.8 million people received benefits in the week that ended Oct. 22, the last period for which inclusive figures are available.

Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent – a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America’s 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.

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Congress is expected to decide by year’s end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.

Yet for a growing share of the unemployed, a vote in Congress to extend the benefits to 99 weeks is irrelevant. They’ve had no job for more than 99 weeks. They’re no longer eligible for benefits.

Their options include food stamps or other social programs. Nearly 46 million people received food stamps in August, a record total. That figure could grow as more people lose unemployment benefits.

So could the government’s disability rolls. Applications for the disability insurance program have jumped about 50 percent since 2007.

“There’s going to be increased hardship,” said Wayne Vroman, an economist at the Urban Institute.

The number of unemployed has been roughly stable this year. Yet the number receiving benefits has plunged 30 percent.

Government unemployment benefits weren’t designed to sustain people for long stretches without work. They usually don’t have to. In the recoveries from the previous three recessions, the longest average duration of unemployment was 21 weeks, in July 1983.

By contrast, in the wake of the Great Recession, the figure reached 41 weeks in September. That’s the longest on records dating to 1948. The figure is now 39 weeks.

“It was a good safety net for a shorter recession,” said Carl Van Horn, an economist at Rutgers University. It assumes “the economy will experience short interruptions and then go back to normal.”

Weekly unemployment checks average about $300 nationwide. If the extended benefits aren’t renewed, growth could slow by up to a half-percentage point next year, economists say.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that each $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates up to $1.90 in economic growth. The CBO has found that the program is the most effective government policy for increasing growth among 11 options it’s analyzed.

Jon Polis lives in East Greenwich, R.I., one of the 20 states where 99 weeks of benefits are available. He used them all up after losing his job as a warehouse worker in 2008. His benefits paid for groceries, car maintenance and health insurance.

Now, Polis, 55, receives disability insurance payments, food stamps and lives in government-subsidized housing. He’s been unable to find work because employers in his field want computer skills he doesn’t have.

“Employers are crying that they can’t find qualified help,” he said. But the ones he interviewed with “weren’t willing to train anybody.”

From late 2007, when the recession began, to early 2010, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits rose more than four-fold, to 11.5 million.

But the economy has remained so weak that an analysis of long-term unemployment data suggests that about 2 million people have used up 99 weeks of checks and still can’t find work.

Contributing to the smaller share of the unemployed who are receiving benefits: Some of them are college graduates or others seeking jobs for the first time. They aren’t eligible. Only those who have lost a job through no fault of their own qualify.

The proportion of the unemployed receiving benefits usually falls below 50 percent during an economic recovery. Many have either quit jobs or are new to the job market and don’t qualify.

Today, the proportion is falling for a very different reason: Jobs remain scarce. So more of the unemployed are exhausting their benefits.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has noted that the long-term unemployed increasingly find it hard to find work as their skills and professional networks erode. In a speech last month, Bernanke called long-term unemployment a “national crisis” that should be a top priority for Congress.

Lawmakers will have to decide whether to continue the extended benefits by the end of this year. If the program ends, nearly 2.2 million people will be cut off by February.

Congress has extended the program nine times. But it might balk at the $45 billion cost. It will be the first time the Republican-led House will vote on the issue.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates fell in 280 large metro areas from August to September. They rose in 61 and were unchanged in 31. That’s the most number of cities to see a decline since April.

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Nationwide, employers added a net 103,000 jobs in September. And the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent for the third straight month.

Unlike national and state data, metro unemployment figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal changes. Many of the areas with the sharpest drops in unemployment were cities with large universities. They likely added jobs at the start of the academic year.

Organized by Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh, the job fair featured hundreds of job openings available only to individuals with a felony on their record.

“In this tough job market, we know that it is difficult, regardless of whether you have a felony or not, to find a job,” Pugh said. “But we feel that population needs just a boost of confidence and some hope that there are employers out there who will give them second chances.”

Read more at the Grio.

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But Forte, a 55-year-old from Cleveland, says a recruiter for an employment agency told her she would not be considered for the job because she had been out of work too long. She had lost her job driving a bus.

“They didn’t even want to hear about my experience,” said Forte. “It didn’t make sense. You’re always told just go out there and get a job.”

Forte, scraping by now as a part time substitute school bus driver, is part of a growing number of unemployed or underemployed Americans who complain they are being screened out of job openings for the very reason they’re looking for work in the first place. Some companies and job agencies prefer applicants who already have jobs, or haven’t been jobless too long.

She could get help from a provision in President Barack Obama’s jobs bill, which would ban companies with 15 or more employees from refusing to consider – or offer a job to – someone who is unemployed. The measure also applies to employment agencies and would prohibit want ads that disqualify applicants just because they are unemployed.

But Obama’s bill faces a troubled path in Congress, as Republicans strongly oppose its plans for tax increases on the wealthy and other spending provisions. Should the bill fail, Democrats are sure to remind jobless voters that the GOP blocked an attempt to redress discrimination against them at a time when work is so hard to find.

The effort to protect the unemployed has drawn praise from workers’ rights advocates, but business groups say it will just stir up needless litigation by frustrated job applicants. The provision would give those claiming discrimination a right to sue, and violators would face fines of up to $1,000 per day, plus attorney fees and costs.

“Threatening business owners with new lawsuits is not going to help create jobs and will probably have a chilling effect on hiring,” said Cynthia Magnuson, spokeswoman for the National Federation of Independent Business. “Business owners may be concerned about posting a new job if they could face a possible lawsuit.”

A survey earlier this year by the National Employment Law Project found more than 150 job postings on employment Web sites such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com requiring that applicants “must be currently employed” or using other exclusionary language based on current employment status.

“It’s really alarming to us that employers continue to ignore the strong public condemnation of this practice,” said Maurice Emsellem, the legal group’s policy co-director.

The issue has gained more prominence as the unemployment level remains stuck over 9 percent and a record 4.5 million people – nearly one-third of the unemployed – have been out of work for a year or more. And older workers, like Forte, often struggle to find new jobs.

“There’s a flood of workers looking for jobs right now and unfortunately, this is a convenient way to streamline the process” by employers, Emsellem said. Some companies might assume people who have been out of work for several months may not be stellar performers, he said.

The practice has also drawn concern from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where members at a hearing earlier this year said barring unemployed people from employment may have a greater effect on blacks and Hispanics with higher jobless rates.

Ron Cooper, a former commission general counsel during the Bush administration now in private practice, said he thinks the problem is being overblown.

“People, I’m sure, are looking for shortcuts to trim the applicant pool that they’re looking at,” Cooper said. “But I’ve never heard of this as a top-shelf criteria for people making those decisions.”

Forte says she had sought a job at FedEx through the agency Kelly Services, where she said a recruiter told her the company was not considering applicants who have been out of work longer than six months. “Here I am, a seasoned worker. I didn’t have six months, but I had eight years of experience,” she said.

Jane Stehney, a Kelly spokeswoman, said the company does not discriminate on any basis, including unemployment status. And Sally Davenport, a spokeswoman for FedEx in Memphis, said her company has no policy barring the unemployed from seeking a job and never instructed the temp agency to discriminate

“We interview and hire the candidates best qualified for the job,” she said. “There was obviously confusion on the part of the temp agency.”

Last month, the job search Web site Indeed.com announced it would not accept any job ad that seeks to exclude the unemployed.

“Our policy is to exclude job listings that do not comply with federal or local laws related to discriminatory hiring practices as well as job listings that discriminate against the unemployed,” said Indeed.com spokeswoman Sophie Beaurpere.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who has sponsored a separate bill protecting the unemployed, said he understands that employers need the right to hire according to their needs and to factor in work experience.

“But they shouldn’t have the right to discriminate from the start and preemptively deny qualified workers a fair chance at a job they need,” Brown said.

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Unemployed Blacks Share Stories Of Financial, Emotional Struggle

Supreme Court To Hear Sex Bias Claim Against Wal-Mart

As the labor market stalls, jobless claims have risen to almost half a million. This is the second week in which unemployment claims have risen.

This brings the total number of Americans receiving unemployment to more than seven million people.

RELATED: Dr. Boyce: 27-Year High On Black Unemployment Is A Sign To Wake Up

The Huffington Post reports:

It was the second straight week in which claims rose. Wall Street analysts had been looking for a dip to 410,000.

Excluding one week in early August, claims have held above 400,000 since early April. A Labor Department official said there was no discernible effect from Hurricane Irene or other storms in the national reading.

Read More At The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting an economy in peril, President Barack Obama unveiled a $450 billion plan Thursday night to boost jobs and put cash in the pockets of dispirited Americans, challenging Republican skeptics to embrace an approach heavy on the tax cuts they traditionally love. With millions of voters watching and ever skeptical of Washington, Obama told Congress, “Let’s meet the moment.”

The newest and boldest element of Obama’s plan would slash the Social Security payroll tax both for tens of millions of workers and for employers, too. For individuals, that tax has been shaved from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent for this year but is to go back up again without action by Congress. Obama wants to keep it and deepen the cut to 3.1 percent for workers.

Read The Text Of The Obama Jobs Speech Here

“This plan is the right thing to do right now,” Obama said after a divided body rose in warm unison to greet him. “You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country.”

In his televised address to Congress, Obama sought to provide a jolt for the economy, still staggering on his watch, and for his own standing at one of the lowest marks of his presidency. He put forth a jobs plan that he hopes can get bipartisan support and spur hiring in a nation where 14 million people remain out of work and the jobless rate is stuck at 9.1 percent. Public confidence in his stewardship of the economy is eroding.

Obama did not venture an estimate as to how many jobs his plan would create. He promised repeatedly that his plan would be paid for, but never said how, pledging to release those details soon.

Under soaring expectations for results, Obama sought to put himself on the side of voters who he said could not care less about the political consequences of his speech.

“The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy,” Obama said.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Disrespectful! Top Republicans To Boycott Obama’s Job Speech

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its most recent unemployment data. We knew that Black folks (especially men) would be at the bottom, we just didn’t know how bad. Well, it turns out that the numbers exceed even the most pessimistic predictions.

Black unemployment shot up like a rocket during the month of August, rising from an abysmal 15.9 percent to an even more shocking 16.7 percent. Much of the increase was driven by Black male unemployment, which rose from 17 to 18 percent. Black female unemployment remained steady at 13.4 percent, and Black teen unemployment experienced a dramatic increase from 39.2 percent to an astounding 46.5 percent.

If you were white in America, the month of August was pretty good. White unemployment remained consistent across the board, and went down for white males. Overall white unemployment dropped from 8.1 percent to 8 percent. White males saw a decline from 7.9 to 7.7 percent. White women and teens saw their unemployment rates remain unchanged at 7 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

The Obama Administration has a serious problem. Every time the numbers show that chronic Black unemployment has reached crisis levels, I think back to the Obama Administration’s delusional assertion three years ago that a “rising tide will lift all boats” (that targeted economic policy would not work as well as a general policy that helps everyone – after all, he is “everyone’s president”).  Well, I’m here to report to the Obama Administration: The tide not only missed our boat, but Black folks are sinking to the bottom of the economic ocean.

One of the most telling signs of racial inequality in America is the fact that African Americans are not only subjected to the very worst economic circumstances in the country, but we are also not allowed to be upset about it. Middle class Tea Partiers can gather in Washington to complain about health care, wealthy white folks can get upset about a tiny spike in taxes, and white Americans can remain justifiably outraged over a measly eight percent rate of unemployment. But when African Americans say a word about widespread and virtually unprecedented economic suffering in the presence of a Black president, we are referred to as Uncle Toms or told that we are demanding too much.

Perhaps it’s time to grow up and get a political education. Instead of being pacified by a beautiful statue of Dr. King or appearances by President Obama on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, it’s time that we force all of Washington (including Obama) to have their “Beyonce Moment” : Say my name. Let me know that you are with me in my suffering. Don’t force my people to live in the socioeconomic basement in painful silence so as not to offend a powerful Black man from an Ivy League University. The call to consciousness within Black America is not a matter of attacking or hating President Obama. It’s a matter of getting the Obama Administration to admit that they were wrong.

Like wide-eyed children, we trusted the Obama Administration and their Wall Street-wired economic advisers to incorporate policies that would make life better for our people, in addition to the rest of America. Well, the evidence is clear and the verdict is in: Those policies have not worked. The president would be wise to let go of the charade, admit that mistakes were made and profess that it’s time to take the country in another direction.

Additionally, African American leaders who continue to work to elevate the Obama campaign without demanding true reciprocity in exchange for the Black vote risk being perceived as political slum lords. Again, this is not to say that one does not have the right to aggressively campaign for President Obama. But it’s another thing to present the president as “the really cool brother you should vote for.” Instead, addressing administration policies and gauging their sensitivity to our community’s needs should be mandatory before simply pulling out the “Black man card” for the next election.

One of the most painful challenges of demanding our rights from Washington is that we are forced to confront the possibility that the Black man we loved so much may not have our best interests at heart. Also, with every mention of Black unemployment comes the predatory glance of blood-sucking Republicans, who are waiting with open arms. Finally, there is the uncomfortable reality that we are harming the progress of one of the greatest Black men in American history. To have Obama in the middle of the government that has played a powerful role in building this cesspool of political neglect is like a slave’s best friend guarding the master’s house on the night of the revolt.

In spite of our respect for Obama, there must come a time when our love for Black folks must supersede any quest for personal or political gain. There must be a time when empty excuses  go out the window, and where African Americans engage in individual and collective action that will get us out of this hell hole. Times have gotten too critical for us to worry about protecting Barack Obama or anyone else – I just want to protect our people.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. Follow us on Facebook by visiting this link.

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No relief in sight as Black unemployment reaches 27-year high

Despite a slumping economy, states like North Dakota seem to be doing fairly well. With an unemployment rate slightly over 3 percent and the highest job growth in the nation, some say North Dakota and its neighboring states (Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota), are the best options for African-Americans looking to find work.

But with unemployment as high as it is, Black folks may need to begin looking for work in places they never would have considered. Meanwhile, venturing outside of our comfort zone to make a new life for ourselves is not a brand new concept. African-Americans, like any other group, travel to where the opportunities take them.

Read more at The Grio.

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Black Unemployment News Coverage

WASHINGTON — The economy weak and the public seething, President Barack Obama is expected to propose $300 billion in tax cuts and federal spending Thursday night to get Americans working again. Republicans offered Tuesday to compromise with him on jobs – but also assailed his plans in advance of his prime-time speech.

In effect, Obama will be hitting cleanup on a shortened holiday week, with Republican White House contender Mitt Romney releasing his jobs proposals on Tuesday and front-running Texas Gov. Rick Perry hoping to join his presidential rivals Wednesday evening on a nationally televised debate stage for the first time.

Lawmakers began returning to the Capitol to tackle legislation on jobs and federal deficits in an unforgiving political season spiced by the 2012 presidential campaign.

Adding to the mix: A bipartisan congressional committee is slated to hold its first public meeting on Thursday as it embarks on a quest for deficit cuts of $1.2 trillion or more over a decade. If there is no agreement, automatic spending cuts will take effect, a prospect that lawmakers in both parties have said they would like to avoid.

According to people familiar with the White House deliberations, two of the biggest measures in the president’s proposals for 2012 are expected to be a one-year extension of a payroll tax cut for workers and an extension of expiring jobless benefits. Together those two would total about $170 billion.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan was still being finalized and some proposals could still be subject to change.

The White House is also considering a tax credit for businesses that hire the unemployed. That could cost about $30 billion. Obama has also called for public works projects, such as school construction. Advocates of that plan have called for spending of $50 billion, but the White House proposal is expected to be smaller.

Obama also is expected to continue for one year a tax break for businesses that allows them to deduct the full value of new equipment. The president and Congress negotiated that provision into law for 2011 last December.

Though Obama has said he intends to propose long-term deficit reduction measures to cover the up-front costs of his jobs plan, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama would not lay out a wholesale deficit reduction plan in his speech.

In a letter to Obama on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor outlined possible areas for compromise on jobs legislation. Separately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said last month’s unemployment report – it showed a painfully persistent 9.1 percent jobless rate and no net gain of jobs – “should be a wakeup call to every member of Congress.”

Whatever the potential for eventual compromise on the issue at the top of the public’s agenda, the finger pointing was already under way.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell predicted Obama’s Thursday night speech to Congress on jobs legislation would include “more of the same failed approach that’s only made things worse over the past few years.”

He spoke a few moments after Reid had said that Republicans, rather than working with Democrats to create job-creating legislation, insist on “reckless cuts to hurt our economic recovery.”

The Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after an August recess. The House comes back Wednesday.

Left largely ignored in the latest political remarks was a remarkable run of late-summer polls that show the country souring on Obama’s performance – and on Congress’ even more.

A Washington Post-ABC survey released Monday found that 60 percent of those polled expressed disapproval of Obama’s handling of the economy. Thirty-four percent said his proposals were making the situation worse and 47 percent said they were having no effect – dismal soundings for a president headed into a re-election campaign.

Only 19 percent said the country was moving in the right direction.

Not that Republicans, or Congress as a whole, are in good odor with the voters.

The Post-ABC News poll found only 28 percent approval for the job the Republicans are doing, and 68 percent disapproval.

An AP-GfK survey last month put overall support for Congress at 12 percent – the lowest level ever in the survey’s history.

The tea party has also been hurt, according to the same poll, which found that 32 percent of those surveyed have a deeply unfavorable impression of the movement that helped give Republicans control of the House in the 2010 elections.

In their letter to Obama, Boehner and Cantor wrote that neither party would win all it wants from the coming debate over jobs legislation. “We should not approach this as an all-or-nothing situation,” they said, striking a conciliatory tone in the first moments of a post-summer session of Congress.

But it was unclear what, if any, concessions they were prepared to make.

“We are not opposed to initiatives to repair and improve infrastructure,” they wrote, saying they favor repeal of a current requirement for 10 percent of highway funds to be spent on items such as museums or bike trails.

But they did not say they would support any additional funding for construction, and aides declined to provide any additional details.

Boehner and Cantor also said the House was ready to pass free trade agreements negotiated with Colombia, Panama and South Korea measures, which they noted the White House estimates would create 250,000 jobs.

The administration wants the trade deals approved simultaneously with legislation to provide job training and other benefits for workers who lose their job to imports, and the letter from the Republican leaders promised they would consider such measures rather than pledging to pass them.

There was maneuvering on another front during the day.

Democrats won approval in a Senate subcommittee for legislation adding $6 billion in spending to pay victims of Hurricane Irene and past disasters dating to Hurricane Katrina, including $4 billion for the 2012 budget year.

Republicans did not object, even though the legislation did not include other cuts to offset the cost and the new spending would exceed levels permitted in a sweeping compromise passed last month to cut future deficits by nearly $1 trillion over a decade.

It is unclear when the measure will come to the Senate floor, and whether Republicans will attempt to offset the increase when it does.

In comments in recent weeks, Cantor has said any increase must be offset.

For his part, Romney chose Nevada, where unemployment stood at a nationwide high of 12.9 percent in July, for a campaign speech in which he outlined numerous proposals to create jobs.

He called for lowering the maximum corporate tax from 35 percent to 25 percent and abolishing the tax on dividends and investment earnings for anyone making less than $200,000 a year. He also said any new government regulation that raises costs for businesses should be accompanied by other steps to reduce the burden by an identical amount.

“America should be a job machine, jobs being created all the time,” he said.

The elements Romney outlined – lower taxes and less regulation – are the same as those advanced by Republicans in Congress.

McConnell said Republicans “will spend the next weeks and months arguing in favor of a robust legislation agenda aimed at blocking or repealing some of the most pernicious rules and regulations.”

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Obama gives $6.2 trillion towards minority job training

WASHINGTON  – Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.

The government also reported that the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent. It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010.

Stocks tumbled on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 245 points soon after trading began.

A strike by 45,000 Verizon workers lowered the job totals. Those workers are now back on the job.

The weakness in employment was underscored by revisions to the jobs data for June and July. Collectively, those figures were lowered to show 58,000 fewer jobs added. The downward revisions were all in government jobs.

The average work week also declined and hourly earnings fell by 3 cents to $23.09.

Weak growth, Standard & Poor’s downgrade of long-term U.S. debt in early August and a sell-off on Wall Street likely kept some businesses from hiring.

With job creation stalled and wages declining, consumers won’t see much gain in incomes. That will limit their ability to spend, which undercuts growth. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

“The stagnation in US payroll employment is an ominous sign,” said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. “The broad message is that even if the US economy doesn’t start to contract again, any expansion is going to be very, very modest and fall well short of what would be needed to drive the still elevated unemployment rate lower.”

The economy needs to add roughly 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, which has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.

In August, the private sector added 17,000 jobs, the fewest since February 2010. That compares with 156,000 in July and 75,000 in June.

Hiring fell across many different sectors. Manufacturers cut 3,000 jobs, its first decline since October 2010. Construction companies, retailers, and transportation firms also cut workers.

The health care industry added 30,000 jobs last month.

The economy expanded at an annual pace of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year. That was the slowest six months of growth since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

In August, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the Conference Board.

Most economists forecast that growth may improve to about a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But that’s not fast enough to generate many jobs.

The Obama administration has estimated that unemployment will average about 9 percent next year, when President Barack Obama will run for re-election. The rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office.

The White House Office of Management and Budget projects overall growth of only 1.7 percent this year.

Next week, Obama will deliver a rare address to a joint session of Congress to introduce a plan for creating jobs and boosting economic growth.

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Not good! Unemployment rose in nearly every US city

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will lay out his jobs plan in a prime television time address next week to a rare joint session of Congress, the White House said Wednesday.

Obama sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking to speak to both chambers on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m (midnight GMT).

With the U.S. economy on the rails and opposition Republicans on the attack, the much-anticipated speech is expected to include proposals for economic growth such as tax credits and infrastructure spending along with calls for shrinking the deficit.

WATCH MSNBC COVERAGE OF THE OBAMA SPEECH ON JOBS:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In his letter to the lawmakers, Obama said Washington must answer the call to put aside politics and do what’s best for the country to grow the economy and create jobs.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said that Obama decided to seek to speak to a joint session of Congress because congressional action is needed to carry out his plans. Lawmakers will have just returned from their annual summer recess.

“He believes the venue is appropriate because of the actions that need to be taken,” Carney said.

The speech will conflict with a Republican presidential debate happening at the same time in California, but Carney said that was not a consideration. “It is coincidental,” he said.

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Obama to unveil plan to add jobs

President Obama said during a Tuesday radio show that hiring discrimination against the jobless “makes absolutely no sense” and that he supports legislation to ban the practice.

Sybil Wilkes, a co-host of the “Tom Joyner Morning Show,” asked the president about long-term unemployment and businesses that tell applicants, “If you’re unemployed, we don’t want to hear from you.”

Obama noted that the long-term unemployed have a tougher time landing jobs and said a stronger overall economy would make employers less choosy. “But we have seen instances in which employers are explicitly saying we don’t want to take a look at folks who’ve been unemployed,” the president said.

“Well, that makes absolutely no sense, and I know there’s legislation that I’m supportive of that says you cannot discriminate against folks because they’ve been unemployed, particularly when you’ve seen so many folks who, through no fault of their own, ended up being laid off because of the difficulty of this recession.”

Read more at Huffington Post

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WASHINGTON — Seeking a jolt for a wilting economy, President Barack Obama will give a major speech in early September to unveil new ideas for speeding up job growth and helping the struggling poor and middle class, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.

The president’s plan is likely to contain tax cuts, jobs-boosting infrastructure ideas and steps that would specifically help the long-term unemployed. The official emphasized that all of Obama’s proposals would be fresh ones, not a rehash of plans he has pitched for many weeks and still supports, including his “infrastructure bank” idea to finance construction jobs.

On a significant and related front, Obama will also present a specific plan to cut the suffocating long-term national debt and to pay for the cost of his new short-term economic ideas.

His debt proposal will be bigger than the $1.5 trillion package that a new “supercommittee” of Congress must come up with by late November.

The president will then spend his fall publicly pressing Congress to take action as the economic debate roars into its next phase. Both the economic ideas and the plan to pay for them will be part of Obama’s speech, although the address will focus mainly on the jobs components.

The president’s speech is expected right after the Sept. 5 Labor Day holiday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not yet disclosed his plans.

No final decisions on the economic package have been made.

Seeking re-election in a dispiriting economic time for the nation, Obama’s rollout plan allows him to come into September swinging after one of the roughest periods of his presidency.

Obama has hinted about new economic ideas for days as the Republican presidential contenders take whacks as his record. Obama’s economic team has been hashing out the new package since he and Congress struck a last-minute debt deal in late July to prevent a debilitating government default.

Obama has been rumbling through the Midwest all week, lobbying the locals along the way to help him pressure a divided Congress into working with him. He has one day of his bus tour left on Wednesday before returning to Washington and heading on a vacation with his family.

Come September, Obama will try to reframe the jobs debate and press lawmakers to act on his ideas. And, since he is almost sure to face political opposition from Republicans, particularly the leadership of the House, he is already preparing to lobby the American public for support if Congress tosses his ideas aside.

As the leader of the country, Obama is under unparalleled pressure to start showing more economic progress. His own job is expected to depend on it.

Nearly 14 million people are unemployed. Many millions more have given up looking for jobs or haven’t found a way to move from part-time to full-time work.

The administration official would not offer details about the tax cuts Obama is likely to propose for the middle class.

They are expected to be separate from the extension of the payroll tax cut for employees that Obama has lobbied for by the day. Obama also has promoted a familiar list of other ideas, including patent reform and three major trade deals. And he has pushed for longer benefits for the chronically unemployed.

As for debt reduction, Obama is trying to have some say over the highly influential committee charged with recommending major changes fast.

That 12-person panel of Republicans and Democrats will start work in September on coming up with – by Nov. 23 – $1.5 trillion in savings over the coming decades. If not, or if Congress fails to approve the committee’s plans, automatic spending cuts that both parties oppose would kick in across the government.

Obama’s plan will be bigger. By how much isn’t clear, but he has already envisioned $4 trillion in cuts over a slightly longer period of time.

He was in serious talks with House Speaker John Boehner during the recent, wrenching talks over a similar big package, between $3 trillion and $4 trillion. And those talks had included the potential for economic help like the payroll tax cut extension; Obama’s new plan is likely to follow similar form.

Without offering any specifics about his plans, the president has been telling audiences he will get detailed in September, and then fight it out.

“My attitude is, get it done,” he said in one Iowa town hall on Monday. “And if they (lawmakers) don’t get it done, then we’ll be running against a Congress that’s not doing anything for the American people, and the choice will be very stark and will be very clear.”

The economy has rebounded from a deep recession Obama inherited, but growth and hopes have stalled.

The unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent. No president in recent history has been re-elected with a jobless rate nearly that high.

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Obama talks “Jobs of Future” in Michigan

Obama planned to tour a Holland, Mich., factory that makes advanced batteries for alternative-fuel vehicles such as hybrids or all-electrics.

In Michigan, where the unemployment rate was 10.5 percent in June, higher than the national rate, Obama was expected to talk about the benefits of spending money on producing such clean-energy technologies as advanced batteries: jobs and reduced consumption of foreign oil.

He calls them “jobs of the future” and says the U.S. should lead the way in developing energy sources that pollute less.

Johnson Controls Inc., the energy company that owns the plant that was welcoming Obama, has received a $3 million federal grant and expects to create 150 jobs at facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin, White House energy adviser Heather Zichal said.

The president also was to discuss how the clean-energy push can help automakers meet new fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.

Obama won Michigan in the 2008 presidential election and the economically battered state is crucial to his re-election hopes in 2012.

After wrapping up his second visit to Holland, Mich., in 13 months, Obama was bound for a pair of $35,800-a-ticket Manhattan fundraisers: a reception with about 15 people at the Ritz-Carlton hotel and a dinner for 50 at a private home, a Democratic official said.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and movie producer Harvey Weinstein are the dinner hosts. The reception host is Gary Hirshberg, chief executive officer of organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm.

The $35,800 admission price is the legal maximum per person. Obama’s campaign keeps $5,000 and the Democratic National Committee pockets the remaining $30,800.

Obama’s campaign canceled 10 fundraisers around the country last month so the president could stay in Washington to help negotiate a deal allowing the government to borrow more money and avoid defaulting on its bills.

With a deal now in place, Obama is trying to make up fundraising ground, although campaign officials have acknowledged that they won’t bring in as much money this summer as the $86 million that was raised in the spring and shared with the DNC.

Thursday’s fundraiser will be Obama’s fifth campaign event since he signed the debt-ceiling bill into law on Aug. 2. It’s also his third donor event of the week.

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Not Good! Unemployment Rises In Nearly All US Cities

Today the economy has 5 percent fewer jobs, and the unemployment rate has almost doubled since the onset of the last recession.

The NewYorkTimes.com reports:

“It would be disastrous if we entered into a recession at this stage, given that we haven’t yet made up for the last recession,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics.

Read more at NYTimes.com

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CBC Launches “For The People” Jobs Tour

Black Unemployment Dips, Black Wealth Remains Destroyed

‎

A job fair and town hall at Cleveland State University in Ohio will be the first part of the CBC’s iniative.

TheGrio.com reports:

“Recently, the CBC Members unanimously introduced the Congressional Black Caucus ‘For the People’ Jobs Initiative Resolution (H. Res. 348) to encourage the House of Representatives to immediately consider and pass critical jobs legislation to address the growing jobs crisis throughout America,” CBC Chairman Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, II said on Friday, in response to the release of July jobs numbers. “We want to get 10,000 people hired. There is no time to waste. The time to act is now, and we are on the move.”

Read more at TheGrio.com

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CBC Launches Job Fair To Help Bring Black People Back To Work

WASHINGTON – Unemployment rates rose in more than 90 percent of U.S. cities in June, mirroring a national slowdown in hiring.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment rates rose in 345 large metro areas. They dropped in 20 cities and were unchanged in seven. That’s worse than May, when rates rose in only 210 cities. And it is a sharp reversal from April, when unemployment rates fell in nearly all metro areas.

The biggest increase was in Joplin, Mo, which was hit by a major tornado on May 22. The city lost 9,400 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate jumped nearly 2 percentage points, to 9.6 percent.

The national unemployment rate ticked up to 9.2 percent in June, the highest level this year.

Businesses have cut back on hiring this spring. Employers added only 18,000 jobs in June, the fewest in nine months. That’s down sharply from an average of 215,000 net job gains each month in the February-April period.

Economic growth declined to less than 1 percent in the first half of this year. That’s slowest pace since the recession ended two years ago.

Stagnant wages and high gas prices have cut into consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. Spending fell in June for the first time in 20 months, the government said Tuesday.

Unemployment rose in many college towns, likely because academic activity wound down for the summer. Unlike the national data, the metro unemployment data isn’t adjusted for seasonal factors.

Champaign-Urbana, Ill., the home of the University of Illinois, reported the second-largest increase. The metro area’s unemployment rate rose from 6.9 percent in May to 8.6 percent in June. College towns in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona reported similar jumps.

Twelve cities reported unemployment rates greater than 15 percent. Eleven of those cities were in California. El Centro, Calif., had the nation’s highest rate at 28.5 percent. It was followed by Yuma, Ariz., at 26.9 percent. Both cities are big agricultural producers and depend heavily on migrant farm work.

Bismarck, N.D. had the nation’s lowest rate, at 3.6 percent. It was followed by Lincoln, Neb. at 4.1 percent, and Fargo, N.D. at 4.2 percent.

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Depression era levels! Black unemployment hits 16 percent

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since early April, a sign the job market may be healing after a recent slump.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications fell 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000. That’s the first time applications have fallen below 400,000 in 16 weeks.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 413,750, the lowest since the week of April 23.

Stocks rose after the report was released.

Economists cautioned that the lower level only reflects one week of data and that doesn’t necessarily signal a trend.

The drop “is clearly good news,” said Joshua Shapiro, an economist at MFR Inc. Still, “we would prefer to see further data before concluding that the earlier downtrend in claims is being re-established.”

Separately, the National Association of Realtors said more people signed contracts to buy homes in June for the second straight month. But the increase was not enough to signal a rebound in the weak housing market.

The Realtors group said its index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes rose 2.4 percent in June to a reading of 90.9. The gain and an 8.2 percent increase in May did not make up for a huge drop-off in April when contract signings had fallen 11.3 percent.

A reading of 100 is considered healthy by economists. The last time the index reached that level was in April 2010, the final month when buyers could qualify for a federal tax credit.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits remains higher than would be expected in a healthy economy. Consumers are holding back on spending because of stagnant wages, high unemployment, tighter credit, and depressed home prices. That’s restraining economic growth.

Unemployment applications had fallen in February to 375,000, a level that signals healthy job growth. But they then surged to an eight-month high of 478,000 in April and have declined only slowly since then.

Some of the drop likely reflects seasonal volatility. Applications were elevated earlier this month partly because of temporary layoffs in the auto and other manufacturing industries, which are ending. Many auto companies close their factories in early July to prepare for new models.

The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits, meanwhile, dipped to 3.7 million. That doesn’t include millions of people receiving extended benefits under emergency programs enacted during the recession. All told, 7.65 million people received benefits in the week ended July 9, the latest data available.

Analysts forecast that the economy grew in the April-June quarter by an annual rate of only 1.7 percent, the second straight quarter of anemic expansion. The government reports on second-quarter growth Friday.

Hiring has slowed in recent months. The economy added only 18,000 net jobs in June. That’s the fewest in nine months and below the average of 215,000 jobs per month that the economy added from February through April. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent last month, the highest level of the year.

Manufacturing had been a bright spot in the economy since the recession ended two years ago. But it has stumbled in recent months. Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell 2.1 percent in June, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the second drop in three months.

Economists had expected orders to increase, noting that temporary constraints have eased. In particular, gas prices have come down slightly since peaking in the spring. But manufacturing output has also been slowed by the Japan earthquake, which has disrupted global supply chains and created a parts shortage in the auto and electronics industries.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and many private economists expect growth to pick up in the second half of this year, predicting those temporary factors will fade. Gas prices, for example, averaged $3.70 a gallon (3.8 liters) on Wednesday, down from their peak of nearly $4 in early May.

But some are growing more concerned that the economy’s weakness will persist. The Fed said Wednesday that its survey of economic activity found growth slowed in eight of its 12 regions in June and early July. The report, known as the Beige Book, was the weakest this year.

Many economists are becoming more pessimistic about the second half of this year. Goldman Sachs recently cut its estimate for growth in the July-September period to 2.5 percent, down from 3.25 percent. JPMorgan, meanwhile, reduced its estimate to 2.5 percent from 3 percent.

Growth of about 2.5 percent is barely enough to reduce the unemployment rate. The economy would need to grow 5 percent for a whole year to bring down the rate by one percentage point.

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In the column, Sharpton encourages African-Americans to address their issues at the National Action Network’s annual march in Washington on August 27, where Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be commemorated, and the unveiling of his national monument will take place.

An Excerpt Reads:

Consistently on the forefront of social justice and civil rights issues, we at National Action Network can think of no greater time than the present to convene and address many of these challenges at our annual march in Washington, D.C. on August 27th. Paying homage to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we will gather, rally and march for jobs, education, non-violence, equality across the board and our collective future. From the emancipator (Abraham Lincoln) to the liberator (Dr. King), we recognize our advancement, but as this Pew study so distinctly highlights, we have much work that remains before us.

Despite what many economists may have us believe, the poor and working-class are still struggling to gain employment, provide food and clothing for their children, maintain a roof over their heads and afford health care. And now there is no question that Blacks and Latinos are lagging generations behind Whites when it comes to wealth. When Whites are more likely to invest in stocks, they are more likely to sustain themselves as the market improves. But when people of color had invested in homes, they were the first ones to lose that equity — hence unable to pass on wealth to their children as well.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

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Wealth Gap Widens Whites, Minorities

Such measures could dramatically impact children.

Read More At TheRoot.com

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Unemployment is already scathing the country, and now it could be far more difficult for those who have been unemployed for a considerably long time.

Though legal experts say the practice does not violate discrimination laws, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a hearing on whether discriminating against the jobless might be illegal.

Read More At NYTimes.com

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Men Gain 768,000 Jobs, While Women Lose 218,000

From RebuildtheDream.com:

Van Jones called this new wave of energy the “American Dream Movement.” It’s growing stronger by the day, and it’s not going away until Americans can find jobs, afford to go to college, retire with dignity, and secure a future for their children and their communities.

TJMS: Van Jones' New Initiative Looks To Get Americans Back To Work And 'Rebuild The Dream' by Roland S Martin on Mixcloud

]]> http://newsone.com/nation/washington-watch/rolandsmartin/tjms-van-jones-discusses-new-initiative-rebuild-the-dream/feed/ 3 http://newsone.com/entertainment/casey-gane-mccalla/jay-z-obama-angry-black-man-unemployment/ http://newsone.com/entertainment/casey-gane-mccalla/jay-z-obama-angry-black-man-unemployment/#comments Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:25:45 +0000 Casey Gane-McCalla, Lead Blogger http://newsone.com/?p=1374515 NEW YORK — At a listening event for the Jay-Z and Kanye West album, "Watch The Throne," Jay-Z slightly criticized President Barack Obama and his reaction to unemployment. GQ reports: "Numbers don't lie. Unemployment is pretty high. It's fucked up, but he's trying not to be the angry black man." Read more..]]> NEW YORK — At a listening event for the Jay-Z and Kanye West album, “Watch The Throne,” Jay-Z slightly criticized President Barack Obama and his reaction to unemployment.

GQ reports:

“Numbers don’t lie. Unemployment is pretty high. It’s fucked up, but he’s trying not to be the angry black man.”

Read The Whole Story At GQ

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Within the pass two years men, who were once considered most effected by unemployment, have gained 768,000 jobs, while women have lost 218, 000.

The Huffington Post Reports:

In 15 out of 16 economic sectors, men have done better than women in the recovery. Since June 2009, there have been five sectors — including finance, manufacturing, and the federal government — where men gained jobs and women lost them. In five others — among them education and health services, and leisure and hospitality — men gained jobs at a faster rate than women. And in another five sectors, including construction, information, and local government, women lost jobs at a faster rate than men.

The Pew study revealed that in five periods of recovery since 1970, women either gained more jobs than men or loss fewer jobs, making this turn of events an ironic revelation. However, the overall unemployment rate for men is still higher than women with 9.5 percent and 8.5 percent respectfully, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

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38 Percent Of African-Americans Have Lost Jobs In Last Three Years

The Clinton Global Initiative America Jobs Summit’s goal is to share the best ideas and brainstorm new ones, so that individuals, cities, states, and companies can help grow the economy, despite strains in Washington.

The summit was streamed live on the CGI’s website.

Read More At TheDailyBeast.com

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The study found that 51 percent of Hispanic males and 45 percent of African American males ages 15-24 will end up unemployed, incarcerated or dead.

ABC News Channel 3 in North Carolina Reports:

The College Board report on educational experience observed, “…Men, especially minority men, lag behind their female counterparts in college access, educational attainment and employment. Minority men outpace their female counterparts only in negative post-secondary outcomes: unemployment, incarceration and death.”

In order to accomplish President Obama’s goal of the United States retaking its position as the world’s best educated nation, improvements must be made in the rate men of color enroll in and graduate from college, the report stated.

Read More At WwayTV3.com

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The tour is scheduled to commence this summer in Chicago, and will visit cities including Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles. The national unemployment rate is currently at 9.1 percent, however for African-Americans, the unemployment rate sits at 16.2 percent.

The Root Reports:

The CBC plans to continue introducing legislation based on this community response. At the tour’s end, the organization will commission a newly created CBC jobs advisory council of top black economic and business experts, to draft a report tying together each component of the initiative. The report will detail the outcomes of each event and propose a long-term solution for job creation and economic growth.

Read More At TheRoot.com

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CBC Fighting For Jobs And Taking Heat For Criticizing President Obama

WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, though applications remain above levels consistent with a healthy economy.

Unemployment benefit applications fell 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 414,000, the second drop in three weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s a positive sign that layoffs are slowing.

Still, applications have been above 400,000 for 10 straight weeks, evidence that the job market is weak compared to earlier this year.

Applications had fallen in February to 375,000, a level that signals sustainable job growth. They stayed below 400,000 for seven of nine weeks. But applications surged in April to 478,000 – an eight-month high – and they have declined slowly since then.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, was unchanged.

Economists said the report signals that the job market is improving, but at a very slow pace.

“This is not a derailing of the economy,” said Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas. “This is a period of weak growth, and we’re going to see this for some time.”

Separately, builders broke ground on more new homes in May, but not enough to signal a recovery in the housing market. New-home construction rose 3.5 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units per year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists say the pace of construction is far below the 1.2 million new homes per year that must be built to sustain a healthy housing market.

The elevated level of applications suggests that companies pulled back on hiring in the face of higher gas and food prices, which have cut into consumer spending. Hiring has slowed sharply since applications rose.

Employers added only 54,000 net new jobs in May, much slower than the average gain of 220,000 per month in the previous three months. The unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent from 9 percent.

Employers probably added more jobs in June than in May, but less than the 220,000 pace earlier this year, economists said.

The economy needs to generate at least 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth. At least twice that many are needed to bring down the unemployment rate.

But economists forecast the nation will add only about 1.9 million jobs this year, according to an Associated Press Economy survey earlier this week. That’s only about 150,000 per month and is lower than a previous estimate two months ago.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped 21,000 to 3.68 million, the lowest in two months. But that doesn’t include the millions of additional unemployed Americans receiving benefits under emergency benefit programs put in place during the recession. All told, 7.4 million people received benefits during the week ending May 28, the latest data available. That’s about 200,000 fewer than the previous week.

More hiring is important because it’s key to boosting consumers’ incomes, which in turn would fuel more spending. Consumer spending grew at a weak 2.2 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, down from 4 percent in the previous quarter. That pushed down economic growth to 1.8 percent from 3.1 percent.

Yet some companies are cutting jobs. Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that it will stop making some of its heart devices because sales have fallen, a move that will eliminate up to 1,000 positions. Some of those cuts will be overseas.

And state and local governments are laying off thousands of employees in order to close large budget deficits. On Tuesday Los Angeles’ school district approved a plan that would cut 2,000 jobs in the 2011-2012 school year.

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While President Obama recently said in a speech that he doesn’t fear a double-dip recession, the same doesn’t hold true for the American public.

In a new CNN poll, 48 percent of Americans not only fear a double-dip recession, but the second Great Depression. It is the highest percentage of respondents that have stated that level of certainty since CNN first asked the question in 2008. Respondents who feel they will soon become unemployed climbed to its highest ever at 30 percent.

The continuing dip in the country’s housing prices, and the decrease in public sector employment has Americans more pessimistic than ever.

Read more at Huffington Post

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Black Unemployment Rises As Joblessness Drops

WASHINGTON — Employers in May added the fewest jobs in eight months, and the unemployment rate inched up to 9.1 percent. The weakening job market raised concerns about an economy hampered by gas prices and the Japanese nuclear disaster.

The key question is whether the meager 54,000 jobs added last month mark a temporary setback or are evidence of a more chronic problem. That total is far lower than the previous three months’ average of 220,000 new jobs per month.

Private companies hired only 83,000 new workers in May – the fewest in nearly a year.

Stocks on Wall Street fell for the third straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 94 points in the first hour of trading. Broader indexes also opened lower.

Local governments cut 28,000 jobs last month, the most since November. Nearly 18,000 of those jobs were in education.

Cities and counties have cut jobs for 22 straight months and have shed 446,000 positions since September 2008.

The anemic pace of job creation presents a huge challenge to President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects next year. And it followed a string of disappointing economic data in the past month that suggest the economy is hitting a soft patch.

The manufacturing sector, a key driver of the economic recovery, grew at its slowest pace in 20 months in May. Home prices are still falling and reached their lowest level since 2002 in March.

Higher gas prices have left less money for consumers to spend on other purchases. And average wages aren’t even keeping up with inflation. As a result, consumer spending, which fuels about 70 percent of the economy, is growing sluggishly.

Economists have said that most of the factors slowing the economy are temporary. But some are now concerned that the impact is greater than they first envisioned.

“Economic activity has clearly hit a soft patch,” said Steven Wood, chief economist for Insight Economics. “The open question is whether this is temporary and will quickly reverse itself over the next couple of months or whether this is an adjustment to a slower permanent growth rate.”

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at HIS, called it a “pretty bad report. It’s tempting to say it’s an outlier, but I’m a little worried.”

More people entered the work force in May. But most of the new entrants couldn’t find work. That pushed the unemployment rate up from 9.0 percent in April. The number of unemployed rose to 13.9 million.

And the government revised the previous months’ job totals to show 39,000 fewer jobs were created in March and April than first thought.

The weakness in hiring was widespread. Manufacturers cut 5,000 jobs, the first job loss in that sector in seven months. That included a drop of 3,400 jobs in the auto sector.

Car makers are cutting back on production because they are having a difficult time purchasing parts. Many auto parts, including some key electronic components, are manufactured in Japan and the March 11 earthquake in that country has disrupted supply chains.

Parts of the economy most dependent on consumer spending saw some of the steepest job losses. Retailers cut 8,500 positions, after adding 64,000 in April. And leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and hotels, cut 6,000 jobs. That came after they added an average of 43,000 in the previous three months.

There were some bright spots in May. Professional and business services added 44,000 new positions, most of them in accounting, information technology services, and management.

Still, the economy needs to generate at least 100,000 jobs each month just to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. And economists say the gains need to be at least double that total to drive down the rate.

About 8.5 million Americans worked part time, even though they would have preferred full-time jobs. Another 2.2 million have stopped looking in the past year. All told, the “under-employment” rate was 15.8 percent, down from 15.9 percent the previous month.

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Top 10 Tips For Black Men Seeking Work

1. Do you really want to change careers? A career change is serious business. Only undergo one after careful consideration. We all have terrible stretches at work that make us want to resign, but they pass… and come back… and pass — well, you get the picture. Take some time off your current job and recharge. If you return to work feeling the same dread, apathy, or frustration as before, maybe a career change is right for you.

2. Take control. You’ve decided it’s time for a new career path, but you’re scared. That’s understandable; changing careers takes guts.You’re in charge. Be proactive. Don’t wait for things to happen to you. Make them happen.

3. Be practical. You want to herd sheep, make designer kites, or create energy drinks that cure the common cold? Hey, good luck. But make sure you can make a decent living.

4. Be committed. Don’t be one of those people who set out to change careers, and then give up when things get a little tough. You have to be determined to make the change work. So promise yourself you’ll accept nothing short of success — no matter what setbacks come your way.

5. Figure out what you want to do. Research, research, research. Get on the Internet and start learning as much as you can about the careers you’re interested in. Read relevant trade papers and magazines. Immerse yourself. Find out the necessary skills and qualifications related to your possible career choices. [Editor’s note: See this section of Quint

6. Hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Get out there and find people who are doing what you want to do. Talk to them about the negative and positive aspects of that career. Find out the truth — the good, the bad, the ugly. Tell them not to pull any punches or sugarcoat anything.

7. Figure out how you will do it. So you’ve decided on a career choice. But don’t expect to start herding those sheep right away. You have to do a little planning first. How will you support yourself during your career change?

8. Learn how to do it. If you’ve already mastered the job skills related to your new career, you’re ready to go live. Otherwise, find out the educational or training requirements of your career choice and prepare to get up to speed. For example, if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you’ll need an advanced degree from a college or university. If you want to write, you may have to take classes or attend workshops.

There are links on this very page from Monster on BlackPlanet.com. Now is as good a time to start to looking. Good luck and happy job hunting.