Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
July 14, 2009

Obama: US Unemployment Will Continue Rising
-------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2554D2F:A6F02AD83191E1601FCAF69E948DDE17E55ED32ED25AB8F6&
 
Most recent data shows US unemployment rate at 9.5 percent 
People wait in line to enter a job fair in Seattle, Washington
(File)U.S. President Barack Obama says the American unemployment rate
will "tick up" (rise slightly) over the next several months. In
a White House meeting with the Dutch prime minister, he said hiring
usually lags behind recovery in other economic areas, so it is not
clear how quickly the job market will improve. The most recent data
shows the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.5 percent. Earlier
Tuesday, a government report said U.S. retail sales rose in June,
boosted by price cuts on cars and rising prices for gasoline. The
Commerce Department says the increase in consumer sales was six-tenths
of a percent. Outside the volatile areas of food and energy, prices
declined slightly. Economists track retail sales closely because
consumer demand drives two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. A
separate report said wholesale prices rose a sharp 1.8 percent in
June. The Labor Department's Producer Price Index measures prices paid
to factories, farmers, and other producers. Since it measures price
changes before goods reach consumers, it gives some indication of
inflationary trends in the future. 


.