US jobless rate climbs despite gains
Sat, 08 May 2010 05:11:26 GMT
US unemployment rate continues to climb despite the latest announcement by the Department of Labor that 290,000 jobs were created in April.
While boasting about the good news on new additions to the work force, US Secretary of Labor Hilda L Solis noted on Friday, however, that the jobless rate has jumped to 9.9 percent from the previous rate of 9.7 percent reported for the first three months of this year.
Welcoming the news on April's job gains, President Barack Obama told reporters the US economy has been growing now for the better part of the year. He played down the increase in overall joblessness, claiming that improving economic conditions means more Americans are back actively looking for work.
Job growth figures for February and March were also revised up, but economists are cautioning that America's unemployment rate will remain above 9 per cent for some time.
The US Congress has recently passed the Hire Act, intended to encourage small businesses to start hiring again through tax cuts and Social Security tax exemptions for new hires.
The Labor Department has also called on Congress to extend the unemployment insurance provisions in the Recovery Act through the end of the year.
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