Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 8, 2009

US Layoffs Ease, But Jobless Rate Hits 25-Year High
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2420C4A:A6F02AD83191E1602EBA6B79DB374ED8B3350E090FE6A6E8&
 
Labor Department reports smallest job loss rate since October but
unemployment reached 8.9 percent in April 
Thousands of unemployed wait in line for buses to a job fair in
Manchester, NH, 09 Apr 2009The pace of job losses eased in the United
States in April, perhaps a signal that the worst of the recession has
past. Friday's Labor Department report said 539,000 jobs were lost
during the month. That is about one-quarter less than the prior month,
and the smallest loss since October. But the U.S. unemployment rate
still rose four-tenths of one percent in April to hit a 25-year high of
8.9 percent. White House officials say President Barack Obama wants to
encourage unemployed people to seek education and training, so they can
get new jobs by reforming the U.S. unemployment compensation rules. In
some cases, current rules would cut jobless benefits for people who
attend school rather than seek work. The president is scheduled to
outline his ideas in a speech later Friday - at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Data
published this week show the number of Americans collecting long-term
unemployment!
  compensation has hit a record high of 6.35 million.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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