No end in sight to U.S. economic crisis as 'scariest jobs chart ever' shows post-recession unemployment is at its worst since World War Two



As unemployment in the U.S. nears the dreaded 10 per cent mark, it is a chart to chill the bones of any job hunter.

Comparing previous recoveries from all 10 American recessions since 1948 to the current financial crisis, the stark figures show almost no improvement in employment figures in the past year.

Some commentators have described the comparison as 'the scariest jobs chart ever', pointing to the fact that only the 2001 recession took longer to bring employment back to pre-crisis levels.

Number of months after peak employment

Even then, the total percentage of jobs lost bottomed out at two per cent, compared with six per cent this time round.

The job chart will heap further pressure on Barack Obama's attempt to stimulate the economy as plans were drawn for a temporary extension of the Bush-era tax rates for all taxpayers.

The bipartisan economic package would also extend jobless benefits for millions of Americans.

Differences remained over details, including White House demands for middle and low-income tax credits.



But Republicans and Democrats appeared to come together yesterday, raising the possibility of a deal in Congress by the end of the week.

Some Democrats continued to object to extending current reduced tax rates for high earners.

The action is needed to prevent the delivery of a tax hike to all taxpayers at the end of the year when the current rates expire and revert to higher pre-2001 and 2003 levels.

Worrying times: Unemployed people queue for a jobs fair at the Los Angeles Convention Centre as politicians debate whether to extend benefits in the new year

Negotiations between the Obama administration and a bipartisan group of lawmakers centered on a two-year extension of current rates.

The 9.8 per cent unemployment rate has also heaped pressure on Republicans to accede to President Obama's demand that Congress extend jobless benefits for a year.



Republican congressional leaders had opposed an extension of benefits without cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.



'I think most folks believe the recipe would include at least an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are unemployed and an extension of all of the tax rates for all Americans for some period of time,' said Senator Jon Kyl, the Senate's Republican negotiator in the talks.

'Without unemployment benefits being extended, personally, this is a nonstarter,' said Senator Dick Durbin, the second-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Republicans have insisted that any extension of jobless aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

Demands: Barack Obama wants lawmakers to extend unemployment benefits for millions

The White House opposes that, saying such cuts are economically damaging during a weak recovery.



About 2m unemployed workers will run out of benefits this month if they are not renewed, and the administration estimates 7m will be affected if the payments are not extended for a year.

Any deal would require the approval of the House and Senate, and the president's signature.



President Obama told Democratic congressional leaders that he would oppose any extension of tax rates that did not include jobless benefits and other assistance his administration was seeking.

The short-term tax and spending debate is unfolding even as Congress and the Obama administration confront growing anxieties over the federal government's growing deficits.



A presidential commission studying the deficit identified austere measures last week to cut $4 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade.

