Secret Ballot Watch

With recent figures at 9.4 percent, 9.7 percent, and 9.8 percent, how high will the national unemployment rate go?

It’s a question that should give supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act pause. Here are some grim details of the September unemployment figures, courtesy of The New York Times:

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“During the technology boom of the late 1990s, Mr. Lamirande, 62, worked for I.B.M., where he drew a salary of about $130,000. After a layoff seven years ago, he has earned about $70,000 a year as a technology consultant working on contract.  

“Since the spring, he and his wife have lived on her modest salary as a public school teacher and on hardship withdrawals from his retirement account. He has searched nationwide for his next contract, willing to relocate. 

“‘I’ve got to go where the opportunities are,’ he said. ‘The problem is, there aren’t many opportunities.’ 

“The latest jobs report lent credence to that contention. The unemployment rate continued to inch toward double digits, a level last seen in June 1983. The so-called underemployment rate (which includes people whose hours have been cut, and those working part-time for lack of full-time positions, along with the jobless) reached 17 percent, the highest level since the government began tracking it in 1994.” 

Goodman, “Jobs Report Highlights Shaky U.S. Recovery,” The New York Times, 10.02.09

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And still supporters want to pass EFCA, a proposal that experts say will kill even more jobs at a time when they are already scarce. The next round of unemployment figures are scheduled to be released Nov. 6. Will this be the month the national unemployment rate crosses into double-digit territory? Don’t count on EFCA to help turn things around. This job-killing legislation would only make things worse. 

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