Unemployment Hits 14-Year High; Losses Challenge President-Elect
November 14, 2008
 Following a year of mounting job losses, unemployment spiked to its highest level in 14 years as the U. S. economy lost nearly a quarter million more jobs in October.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that more than 6.5 percent of Americans are out of work – up nearly a half-percentage point from September. The U.S. Labor Department announced that more than 1.2 million jobs have been lost since the end of 2007.
“We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we are going to have to act swiftly to solve it,” President-elect Barack Obama said last Friday at his first news conference following the election on Nov. 4.
Exit polls showed that Americans are troubled by the unstable economy. Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute said that Obama’s historic victory is in part a repudiation of years of Reagan-like policies, including massive deregulation and large tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
"The task ahead is to fashion policies that will improve the economic circumstances of the vast majority, and thereby restore confidence," Mishel said. "There is much to overcome."
In spite of the economic turndown, IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill said that a reversal of failed Bush policies should help spur the economy. In the face of widespread job losses,
IBEW membership is continuously increasing.
“Union membership is key to ensuring a solid middle class in our country,” Hill said. “The more working men and women we can help secure collective bargaining agreements, the more stable our economy and standard of living will remain.”
To read the EPI’s full report, click here.
Cutline: Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Photo Munki Deluxe.
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