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Unemployment Rate Remains a Concern: Experts Discuss Policy Action

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As the unemployment rate continues to rise, with the current rate standing at 9.2 percent, concerns are growing about the effectiveness of President Obama's economic policies. Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, emphasized the need for bipartisan action to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

Key Takeaways:

  • The unemployment rate in January 2008, when President Obama took office, was 7.8 percent, and it has risen to 9.2 percent as of the current reporting period.
  • Austan Goolsbee attributes the slow growth rate of the economy to a series of factors, including the recession and decreased private sector job creation.
  • The Council of Economic Advisers recommends that policymakers take action to extend the payroll tax cut, pass pending free trade agreements, create an infrastructure bank, and implement a balanced deficit reduction package to stimulate economic growth and job creation.
  • Despite criticism from opponents that the stimulus package did not work, Austan Goolsbee notes that the private sector added more than 2 million jobs in the 15 months preceding the current slowdown in the growth rate.
  • The official forecast predicts that the unemployment rate will decrease to 8.2 percent by the fourth quarter of 2012, while the long-term unemployment rate is expected to return to pre-recession levels of 5.3 or 5.2 percent.

Statistics:

  • Unemployment rate in January 2008: 7.8 percent
  • Unemployment rate as of the current reporting period: 9.2 percent
  • Number of jobs added in the private sector in the 15 months preceding the current slowdown: more than 2 million
  • Official forecast for unemployment rate by the fourth quarter of 2012: 8.2 percent
  • Long-term unemployment rate expected to return to: 5.2 or 5.3 percent

Sources:

  • Council of Economic Advisers
  • White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board
  • Congressional Budget Office
  • Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • CNN Business Correspondent, Romans
  • January 2008 unemployment rate data.

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