Thursday
Aug192010
500,000 Americans Applying For Unemployment Insurance
Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 1:18PMThe number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits reached 500,000 last week, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
The spike represents a 12,000 person rise from the previous week and also signals a nine-month high.
President Barack Obama responded to the numbers Thursday, and said during brief remarks at the White House that the rise compels action. The president added that the data spells out the case for a small business bill, which the Senate has failed to pass due to a Republican filibuster.
The bill would provide community banks with $30 billion to spur lending at the local level.
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