Alarming New Report: Pre-Recession Unemployment Rates May Not be Reached for a Decade

Members of Congress, nation's largest jobs coalition urge government to immediately create jobs to stem the tide of joblessness

WASHINGTON, July 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Jobs for America Now:

Who: Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); Alan Charney, campaign manager, Jobs for America Now coalition; John Schmitt, senior economist, Center for Economic Policy Research

What: Telephonic Press Briefing on Job Growth Projections

When: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 4:00pm

How: By Conference Call: 1-888-299-4099, Conference ID: 659415 Verbal Passcode given to operator: VB20200

Why: As recent calls for additional stimulus and the extension of unemployment benefits meet with stiff opposition, Congress appears to have underestimated the profound effect of the current recession on the labor market. A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), being released by the Jobs for America Now coalition, shows that with a job growth path comparable to the last recovery, the economy will not recover all of the jobs lost in the recession until March 2014. Assuming the trend rate of growth in the labor force, the unemployment rate will not fall back to the pre-recession level until April 2021.

Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Ellison, both co-sponsors of the Senate and House versions of the Local Jobs for America Act, which would preserve or create one million jobs in communities, will talk about the need to adopt this critical piece of legislation. The study, "The Urgent Need for Job Creation," underscores the need for the Local Jobs for America Act and compares various job growth scenarios, of which the most optimistic scenario is not until Sept. 2014.

Jobs for America Now is a campaign of more than 60 groups organizing to put America back to work. For a list of participating organizations visit www.jobs4americanow.org.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. CEPR's Advisory Board includes Nobel Laureate economists Robert Solow and Joseph Stiglitz; Janet Gornick, Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Director of the Luxembourg Income Study; Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; and Eileen Appelbaum, Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University.

SOURCE Jobs for America Now