Obama: Unemployment will be a ‘big problem’ for at least another year

October 2nd, 2009 Obama: New jobless number a sobering reminderWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling the latest jobless figures a sobering reminder that progress to reverse the recession comes in fits and starts. He says the new unemployment numbers also serve as a reminder that the country needs to "grind out this recovery step by step." Obama made the comments after the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September as employers cut more jobs than expected.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US economy continued to shed jobs in the construction, manufacturing, retail and government branches, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent in September, the government said Friday. The rate compared to 9.7 percent unemployment in August, and was the highest since 1983.

September 22nd, 2009 Obama visits Letterman and brings home a potatoNEW YORK — Add this one to the presidential collection: the heart-shaped potato. By the time Barack Obama came on stage to the taping of the "Late Show" on Monday, host David Letterman had offered up 10 reasons why in the world the president had agreed to do it.

August 21st, 2009 Summary Box: 17 states see lower jobless ratesWHAT HAPPENED: Seventeen states saw their unemployment rates decline in July, while 26 reported increases. Though joblessness is still widespread, that's an improvement from June, when only five saw a drop.

July 22nd, 2009 Budget boss defends stimulus, sees joblessness upNEW YORK — The Obama administration's budget director defended its $787 billion stimulus package, saying the heavy spending was necessary to rescue the economy and that the plan is "on schedule" to produce the intended results. In prepared remarks to the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, Peter Orszag said it was "misleading" to judge the effectiveness of the stimulus package based on the rise in unemployment — which hit a 26-year high of 9.5 percent in June — and which he expects will stay high for the "next few quarters." "Only a very small part of the total job creation expected from the Recovery Act would take place by the end of the second quarter," Orszag said.

July 14th, 2009 Obama: Unemployment likely to keep ticking upWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday declined to predict how high unemployment will climb but made clear he expects it to keep worsening for a while as hiring lags behind other signs of economic recovery. "How employment numbers are going to respond is not year clear," the president said on a day when he was headed to Michigan, home of a particularly battered economy.

July 14th, 2009 Obama says unemployment will keep ticking upWARREN, Mich. — Watching the unemployment rate continue to climb despite his efforts to stop it, President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed a $12 billion investment in the nation's two-year colleges to help train millions of unemployed people for jobs he says will be created once the economy turns around.

June 30th, 2009 Obama to salute US problem-solving TuesdayWASHINGTON — So what's working when it comes to innovative problem solving around the country? President Barack Obama on Tuesday will be highlighting nonprofit programs that are making a difference. The White House says the president will salute creative approaches and will discuss the importance of looking outside Washington for solutions.

June 22nd, 2009 White House: 10 percent unemployment within monthsWASHINGTON — The White House says double-digit unemployment is coming sooner than previously acknowledged. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the president expects the nation will reach 10 percent unemployment within the next few months.

May 8th, 2009 Obama to address unemployment on FridayWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will speak Friday morning about his administration's plans to create more jobs in America and improve job training. The rest of the president's day will be taken up with meetings at the White House, including one in the afternoon with Pennsylvania Sen.

May 8th, 2009 Obama to unemployed: More help is on the wayWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has a message for the unemployed: More help is on the way. The president was outlining steps Friday to help the unemployed pursue education and training, and keep their unemployment benefits, too.

April 30th, 2009 Obama says economic recovery will help minoritiesWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the best way to help hard-hit minority communities is to help the entire nation thrive. Obama was asked Wednesday about his specific plans to help black communities, which tend to have higher unemployment rates than whites.

April 30th, 2009 Obama adviser sees increase in unemploymentWASHINGTON — Unemployment will increase in the next several months, but the pace of the nation's economic slide will moderate and level out in the second half of the year, a top Obama economic adviser told Congress Thursday. Christina Romer, the chairwoman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, predicted another economic contraction in the second quarter of the year and delivered a downbeat assessment about unemployment.

April 30th, 2009 Obama adviser: Economic contraction likelyWASHINGTON — A top Obama adviser is predicting another economic contraction in the second quarter of the year and continued increases in unemployment for the next several months. The downbeat assessment from Christina Romer, the chairwoman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, comes in the wake of Wednesday's report that the overall economic output in the United States declined rapidly in the first three months of this year.

March 1st, 2009 JAMMU - The Jammu and Kashmir government has sought the help of European Union in addressing the unemployment problem in the state which has around 300,000 jobless youth. A delegation of the EU Commission led by its head Daniele Smadja is on a four-day visit to the state to study the situation post-2008 polls, which saw a massive turnout of average 60 percent people participating in the democratic exercise.