Economy Alarm: Despite Dem Promises, Metro Unemployment Still Skyrocketing

Despite Dem Promises, Metro Unemployment Still Skyrocketing

Great Depression-Era Jobless Rates Seen In Cities Across America

President Obama Warned of Dire Economic Consequences Without Immediate Action

“What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives — action that’s swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis. Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.” (Barack Obama, “The Action Americans Need,” Washington Post, 2/5/09)

Credibility Crash: Almost 400 U.S. Cities See Unemployment Climb In July With No End In Sight

Unemployment rates in 372 U.S. metropolitan areas continued their upward climb in July, Labor Department figures released Tuesday show.

Some 19 metros now have unemployment rates above 15%; eight are in California, hard-hit by the real-estate collapse, and five are in Michigan, suffering from the auto industry’s downturn.

El Centro, Calif., continues to have the nation’s highest unemployment rate, rising to 30.2% in July. Yuma, Ariz., is next with 26.2%. The national average in July was 9.7%, not seasonally adjusted. The Labor Department will update the latter figure Friday.

There were a few bright spots in July, mostly in interior states less affected by the real-estate boom and bust and aided by relative strength in natural-resources industries. Bismarck, N.D., posted the lowest jobless rate in July, 3.1%, followed by Fargo, N.D., and Rapid City, S.D., at 4.3% each.

Among the biggest cities with a million people or more, Detroit’s unemployment rate was highest, at 17.7%, followed by Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, Calif., at 14.3% and Las Vegas at 13.1%.

Oklahoma City, at 5.9%, and the Washington, D.C., metro area, at 6.2%, had the lowest unemployment rates among the nation’s biggest cities in July. (Kelly Evans, “Joblessness Still Plagues Metro Areas”, Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2009)

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