Why The Unemployment Rate Will Continue To Be High For Sometime (U.S. News)

Why the Unemployment Rate Refuses to Budge – US News and World Report.

Unemployment Holds Steady At 9.7%. Temp. Hirings Up March Job Figures (Politico)

President Barack Obama got the first unequivocally good news on the nation’s employment picture Friday, as new government figures showed the nation gained 162,000 jobs in the month of March.
The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. That’s the first time the nation has gained, rather than lost, in jobs since late 2007, with the [...]

Is The Education Department Equipped To Handle Student Loans Solo? (NPR)

In addition to the health care bill, congressional Democrats passed another sweeping proposal from the Obama administration — one that ends the government’s partnership with private lenders and makes the U.S. Education Department solely responsible for issuing government-backed student loans.
“We’ll see how that goes,” laughs Melissa Gregory, director of financial aid at Montgomery College in [...]

AND WHILE YOU WERE BEING DISTRACTED BY HEALTH CARE: Mr. Geithner Warns Unemployment Will Stay High in 2010 (DailyFinance.com)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top economic officials in the Obama administration say that, while they expect some improvement this spring, 2010 will probably remain a rough year for Americans looking for work.
In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Geithner read a joint statement — which he prepared with Christina Romer, [...]

Jobs Bill Signed, But Job-Creation Advocates Say Obama Just Doesn’t Get It (Huffington Post)

This morning in Washington, President Obama was in the Rose Garden trying to make the jobs bill he was signing sound like a big success, chief economic adviser Larry Summers was at the National Press Club trying to make the administration sound tough on financial regulatory reform — and a critical bunch of economists, policymakers [...]

Senate Passes $140 Billion Bill Extending Jobless Claims (CNN)

The Senate on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging bill that would push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment insurance until year-end and extends dozens of expired tax breaks.
The bill, passed by a 62-36 vote, is the latest job creation effort to go before lawmakers, though it contains virtually no new initiatives to boost employment. [...]

Building a Better Teacher (New York Times)

ON A WINTER DAY five years ago, Doug Lemov realized he had a problem. After a successful career as a teacher, a principal and a charter-school founder, he was working as a consultant, hired by troubled schools eager — desperate, in some cases — for Lemov to tell them what to do to get better. [...]

More Temp Workers Are Becoming Permanent (USATODAY.com)

A growing number of businesses are converting temporary workers to permanent hires, heralding a warming job market.
“It’s definitely on the rise,” says Rob Wilson, president of Employco Group, a Chicago-area staffing firm.
Temporary jobs jumped by 48,000 in February to 2 million and are up 284,000 since September, the government said Friday. That’s a good sign: [...]

Jobless Claims Down, But Economy Stilled Mixed (USA Today)

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week in a sign that layoffs may be easing as the economy slowly recovers, but economic reports are mixed.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 469,000. That nearly matches estimates of 470,000.
Still, improvement in the job market is [...]

Workers Wait On Promise Of Jobs As Obama Agenda Stalls On Hill (Washington Post)

One month after President Obama declared jobs his “number one focus,” Congress has been unable to push through a single measure aimed at putting people back to work, as lawmakers haggle over how best to create jobs and how much to spend in the face of soaring budget deficits.
On Friday, Obama’s jobs agenda stalled on [...]