Jobless rates seen high for many more years (U.S. Conference of Mayors report)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Unemployment rates will likely peak in most U.S. cities in 2010, but it will be many more years before jobless rates hit their lows of the last decade, a report released by a U.S. mayors group shows.

In some areas, such as California's central valley and cities in Nevada, unemployment rates will stay at or above 10 percent through 2013, according to the report published on Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors ..

The mayors group released the report a day ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in which it will seek federal financial aid for small and large cities.

"What is just as alarming as the double-digit unemployment in many of the nation's major metro areas is the lethargic rate at which it will recede once the job market turns around," the report said.

The mayors will push the president to put direct fiscal relief for cities in the budget he is set to propose next month. They will also press for money banks are repaying to the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program to go to help small businesses.

"The effort to ameliorate the human and economic costs of unemployment needs to be sustained, and targeted directly to those metro areas where so much of the labor force is underutilized, unable to contribute to our nation's economic growth," the report said.

Tensions emerged when the $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed a year ago sent aid to cities through states. Now, local government groups are asking Obama to find new formulas to put money directly in their hands.

In November, the last month for which city-wide data is available, 17 metropolitan areas had unemployment rates topping 15 percent, according to the Labor Department.

“In some areas, such as California’s central valley and cities in Nevada, unemployment rates will stay at or above 10 percent through 2013”

Sooner or later this was bound to happen regardless of who is in the White House. I just wonder if this is the new normal for our nation.

Translation: Reparations will continue.

re: Jobless rates seen high for many more years

Of course they will be. Where are new jobs going to come from? Many of the companies who laid people off are out of business. They certainly won't be hiring anyone soon. Others who were able to keep their doors open did so by cutting their labor costs to the bone. They won't be bringing anyone back until business picks up, and where is that new business going to come from? And those who do see a need for more help will certainly not be rushing to hire as long as they have no idea what wild hair Congress and Obama might get up their behind and pile more taxes and fees.

re: mayors will push the president to put direct fiscal relief for cities in the budget

And just where do they propose the money for his relief should come from. Uncle Sam is tapped out. And so are his kids and his kids’ kids.

I hate to be so gloomy, but darned if I see where there is ANY improvement on the horizon. Spending too much of what we didn't have is what helped get us into this hole. And the only proposal Obama and company can come up with is to spend even more.

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