CNN

(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

As the White House convenes what it's calling a jobs summit, consider this:

Almost 16 million Americans are out of work, and one-third of them have been unemployed for more than six-months. There are currently six workers competing for every open job. The government releases the November jobs report tomorrow, with unemployment expected to remain at 10.2 percent.

The White House affair is a meeting with business leaders, academics and other experts to come up with ideas on creating jobs.

But Americans have their own ideas on how to get people back to work. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows 18 percent of those surveyed suggest the best way is to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S instead of sending them overseas. 14-percent say lower taxes, 12-percent say more help for small businesses, and 10-percent say create more infrastructure work.

Other ideas include reducing government regulation, creating more green jobs, providing more stimulus money, and buying American or raising taxes on imports.

Meanwhile, there are some glimmers of good news:

The Labor Department reports that the number of first-time filers for unemployment fell last week to a near 15-month low.

Also an independent private job placement firm shows the pace of job losses slowing to the lowest level in two years.

But the fact is jobs are a trailing indicator and probably won't show any robust growth for awhile - despite other signs that the economy is in recovery. Also, many experts say a lot of the jobs that have been lost will simply never return.

Here’s my question to you: What can be done to create jobs?

Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

Will unemployment get worse before it improves?

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

The man who predicted the worst recession since the Great Depression says the jobs picture is a lot worse than the numbers imply.

Economist Nouriel Roubini says real unemployment is closer to 17.5% and that job losses will likely continue until the end of 2010 - at the earliest. Roubini suggests the official unemployment rate will peak at close to 11% and remain at "a very high level for two years or more."

Roubini also points out that a lot of the lost jobs just are not coming back including those in construction, finance and manufacturing. He suggests that the government extending unemployment benefits isn't the solution; instead they need to create jobs through infrastructure projects and provide temporary tax credits to companies that hire more workers.

Roubini says the poor jobs situation along with a weak recovery could increase the risk of a "double dip recession." In fact, while most economists agree that the U.S. economy is in recovery, many of them are calling for another round of stimulus to prevent another downturn. They point to factors like retail, car and home sales, along with oil prices and the stock market as potential trouble spots.

And Pres. Obama is also warning that too much government debt could lead to a double-dip recession.

Meanwhile a new Gallup poll shows 31% of Americans name the economy as the most important problem facing this country - that's the top of the list. Another 20% cite unemployment.

SO HERE'S MY QUESTION FOR YOU: When it comes to unemployment, are things going to get worse before they get better?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Read the rest of this entry »

(PHOTO CREDIT: Win McNamee/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Senate Democrats now say they've reached a deal to extend unemployment benefits to almost two million Americans who could stop getting checks by the end of this year.

The plan would give an extra 14 weeks of benefits to unemployed people in all 50 states. Those in states with unemployment rates above 8.5 percent would get another six weeks on top of that.

Senate Democrats may bring the measure to a floor vote as soon as tonight. The House passed its own bill last month that would extend benefits for people only in states with unemployment above 8.5 percent.

The bills would be paid for by extending a tax on employers for another two years... so that all these extra benefit payments don't wind up adding to the deficit. Instead the money will come from the people we are counting on to create the new jobs, employers. Makes no sense.

And time is of the essence here - more than 400,000 Americans ran out of their unemployment benefits in September.

Benefits vary from state to state… starting at 26 weeks and going up to 79 weeks in those hit hardest by the recession. The average payment is about $300 a week.

The national employment rate hit 9.8 percent last month. That's a 26 year high. And it's expected to go higher into next year - even as the economy starts to recover. Estimates are there are now six workers for every available job opening.

Here’s my question to you: Should there be a limit on how long people can collect unemployment benefits?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The economy is beginning to recover by some accounts, but not in the way that hits millions of Americans the hardest - unemployment. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the economy will grow more than expected in the third quarter - he expects three percent growth.

But Greenspan points to the "pretty awful" September jobs report - which showed a worse than expected loss of 263,000 jobs. He says unemployment will continue to go up - eventually topping 10 percent.

It's currently at 9.8 percent, which is the highest rate since 1983.

There are estimates as many as 750,000 additional jobs will be lost between now and next March - that would mean almost nine million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007. But employment is a lagging indicator - meaning the economy will begin to recover quite a while before we see a pickup in the jobs numbers.

All this has President Obama talking about job creation. The administration and Democrats want to extend safety net programs - like making unemployment benefits available for up to a year and a half. They also may propose new tax incentives for businesses to get them hiring again.

Whether any of these ideas will work remains an open question. One Democratic aide said: "There may not be anything we can do."

Here’s my question to you: Do you get any sense the job market is beginning to improve?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

(PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Hondros/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The House is considering a bill today that could help more than one million jobless Americans. It's an emergency measure, widely expected to pass, that would extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks for people living in states where the jobless rate tops 8-point-5 percent. That includes 27 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

This would be in addition to the 26 weeks of benefits that most states offer, and the federally-funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved last year.

As this recession drags on and the jobless rate goes up, lawmakers have been under pressure to extend benefits... with governors from 22 states calling on Congress to act quickly. It's estimated that there are now more than six potential workers for each job opening - that's up from 1.7 when the recession began.

But critics say that additional unemployment payments can be a disincentive to looking for a job... and that it could be counterproductive to extend benefits now - when the economy is showing signs of recovery.

The bill's sponsor says it won't add to the deficit because it would extend a federal unemployment tax paid by employers... and require better reporting on new hires so the government doesn't keep paying them unemployment benefits. Senate Democrats say they'll address the measure as soon as the House votes.

State unemployment checks are around $300 a week, plus another $25 from the stimulus act. The national unemployment rate is now at 9.7 percent and expected to be above 10 percent for much of next year.

Here’s my question to you: Should Congress keep extending unemployment benefits?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Six months since the Obama administration pushed through the massive $787 billion economic stimulus package. So where are the jobs?

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor says he doesn't think the program is working as well as it was advertised, and says no one should be highlighting the benefits of the plan.

Cantor points out that when this thing was passed - the administration predicted it would keep unemployment lower than 8.5-percent. The jobless rate in July was 9.4-percent.

The White House has pushed back against critics of the stimulus bill - saying it's working as planned - by easing but not erasing the impact of the recession.

They say it will take a "very, very long time" to fill what they call a "very, very deep hole." That's fine… but where are the jobs?

Most economists agree the recession would have been worse without the stimulus... although they don't agree on how much it has helped.

Meanwhile - a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows most Americans think the stimulus package has cost too much money and isn't doing enough to end the recession.

57-percent of those polled say it is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. 60-percent doubt the plan will help the economy in the future... and only 18-percent say it has done anything to help their personal situation. Not exactly rave reviews.

Here’s my question to you: Why hasn't the stimulus package produced more of a recovery in the jobs market?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Millions and millions of Americans have lost their jobs since this recession started in December of 2007; and the unemployment rate is expected to top 10-percent before the end of this year.

Job opportunities in the health care industry are on the rise.

The harsh reality is that a lot of these people have remained out of work for a very long time. Many of the businesses that used to employ them - the auto industry, finance, real estate and construction - have also been hit hard by the recession.

At the same time, other fields - like health care, clean energy, computer science and government - are expected to grow a lot in the years to come.

USA Today reports that millions of Americans are making dramatic job changes. A survey by Career-Builder shows 71-percent of workers who were laid off and haven't found jobs yet say they're looking for work outside their fields. This could mean the unemployment rate stays higher for longer - as workers need time to get training and then find jobs in a new field.

And these transitions aren't always easy. Sometimes the unemployed have to spend thousands of dollars getting that training - to learn skills needed for a new career. And then they find they have to take pay cuts.

The government is trying to help... the economic stimulus package included $4 billion over three-years to help retrain and place unemployed people in new jobs.

Here’s my question to you: Has the economy forced you to consider a career change?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Labor Department announced this morning 240,000 jobs were lost in the month of October.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

This week began with a message about hope and ended, at least on the economic front, on a feeling of concern.

The Labor Department announced this morning 240,000 jobs were lost in the month of October, bringing us to a grand total of 1.2 million jobs so far this year. More than 650,000 gone in the last three months alone.

Scary stuff... And things could get worse into the first half of 2009. The auto industry is teetering on the brink of disaster. Collectively, they are among the biggest employers in the country. Recent retail sales reports are likely to accelerate the closing of stores. That means more jobs gone. There is nothing on the horizon to make us think things are going to get any better anytime soon. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to create jobs, but he doesn't take over the White House until January. Things could get a whole lot worse between now and then.

Here’s my question to you: How can the new administration begin to slow the loss of jobs in the U.S.?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Read the rest of this entry »