Unemployment Rates Surge, but Good News Remains

Texas ranks 21st in the nation for unemployment at 8.3%, according to late November figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compare Texas' unemployment rate to that of North Dakota, with the smallest percentage of people out of work at 4.2%, and Michigan in last place with a whopping 15.1% unemployment rate.

Friday, the Labor Department released its newest findings that the unemployment rate nationally is at 10%. In October, the rate hit a 26 year high of 10.2%. But some good news crept into the latest figures out Friday. The Labor Department reports employers cut 11,000 jobs in November, fewer than expected. The report says it's the smallest decline since December 2007, when the recession began. Some say the new numbers will take some pressure off President Barack Obama, but he said he still wants to tackle the jobless rate head on.

On the same day the Labor Department released its unemployment numbers, the President will speak in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the number of jobs lost has climbed to 41,000. He is expected to talk about his concerns on jobs lost and the economy.

According to Economagic.com, Austin's unemployment figures stood at 7.2% as of October 2009. That number has steadily crawled upward during the year. In April, the web site reported the unemployment rate to be 5.8% But in January, the number was even higher at 6.4%, according to the web site. Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has promised a three year plan for the city which includes saving jobs by "attracting large employers and helping local businesses succeed." The campaign on jobs ranked #2 on his web site when he ran for mayor this year.

Likewise, Mr Obama promised job creation during his campaign for president. In his speech, he hopes to calm anxiety on the unemployment rate across the country, and offer a solution on how to bring the number back down.

The President's remarks in Pennsylvania Friday come during the same week he delivered an address at West Point, telling Americans he is deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but that he is ending the war by beginning troop withdrawal by 2011.