11 seconds ago 2009-11-12T20:50:02-08:00
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama said Friday's new unemployment figure of 10.2 percent was "a sobering" reminder of the economic challenges facing the world's largest economy.
"Although we lost fewer jobs than we did last month, our unemployment rate climbed to over 10 percent -- a sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead," Obama said in an address at the White House.
US unemployment jumped to double digits in October for the first time since 1983 to 10.2 percent, Labor Department data showed, underscoring slow progress on curbing joblessness in an economy emerging from recession.
The president spoke shortly after signing a broad bill including measures such as an extension of a tax credit for all home buyers through next April and extension of unemployment benefits for up to an additional 20 weeks.
Obama also said his administration was considering "further steps" aimed at pulling the country more definitively out of its worst downturn in decades.
"To that end my economic team is looking at ideas such as additional investments in our aging roads and bridges, incentives to create jobs and steps to increase the flow of credit to small businesses," he added.
While Obama stressed that job growth lags behind growth in the overall economy, he pledged to pursue measures for additional employment creation.
"I can promise you that I won't let up until the Americans who want to find work can find work and until all Americans can earn enough to raise their families and keep their businesses open," he said.
