Roger Williams for Congress

Labor and Retail Reports Show Economic Slippage

When will both parties in Washington realize that American families and small businesses need tax relief and certainty from government before our economy can get back on track? 

From The New York Times: 

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 399,000 in the first week of 2012, the highest in six weeks, from an upwardly revised 375,000 a week earlier. The four-week average of claims was also higher, rising to 381,750 from 374,000.

The Labor Department report also showed 3.63 million continuing claims, up from 3.61 million.

 

Including the millions of workers receiving aid under emergency federal programs, some 7.3 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits as of Dec. 24, the most recent date for which comprehensive figures were available.

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