Recent Oil Spill Could Add To Already High U.S. Unemployment Rate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 5, 2010 --
It is no secret that the U.S. unemployment rate is still at an all time high – now, potentially adding to this already bleak scenario is the possibility that the recent BP oil spill may not only have a negative impact on the environment, but it may also prove to have a negative impact on the economy as well.

A recent MSNBC article, “Obama Fears Unprecedented Disaster” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36897088/ns/us_news-environment), states that some in the fishing industry are already fearing that the oil spill will have a devastating impact on their businesses and the industry as a whole – while those in the tourism industry fear that the recent oil spill will have a negative impact on the upcoming summer tourist season because vacationers will not want to swim in oil-tainted beaches – and this potential loss of business will likely mean more job losses – something the U.S. simply cannot afford.

Although there have been many reports of job creation and signs of a recovering economy, many still agree that the return of jobs and the creation of new ones have not caught up with the amount of jobs lost over the past several years – just ask the millions of unemployed Americans still seeking work.

And if being unemployed is not enough, many unemployed Americans are also dealing with the stress of having no income while they search for work, due to many having exhausted all their unemployment benefits.

A bill was recently signed into law that extended the deadline for applying for unemployment benefits until June 2nd – however, this bill does not help those who have already exhausted all tiers of unemployment, which is estimated to be in the millions – a population often not included in economic reporting.

If this recent oil spill has the negative economic impact many predict it will, then the country could be in store for additional job losses, which will create even more increased competition for the unemployed who are already competing for a limited number of jobs.

Will the unemployed get help?

Lawrence Katz, Harvard Economics Professor, who recently spoke before the U.S. Labor Department regarding job creation, suggested that congress needs to first extend unemployment benefits for the long term unemployed in order to keep the economy stable. Then look at job creation, retraining, etc. He also mentioned that the long term unemployed are least likely to find a job soon, and this will tax the Social Security Disability system due to the health issues facing the long term unemployed. Mr. Katz’s remarks are music to the ears of America’s unemployed, but will Washington listen?
In addition, a recent Huffington Post article, “Tier 5: Congress Sends Mixed Signals About Adding More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/tier-5-congress-sends-mix_n_557508.html), shows that the support of additional weeks of unemployment benefits is getting support from some in the senate including, Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Sherrod Brown (OH), both who support adding additional weeks of benefits to the current unemployment program.

As the assessment of the potential fallout from the recent oil spill along the Gulf Coast continues, the support for additional weeks of unemployment benefits may get even stronger, because those in D.C. could soon be hearing from some “new” casualties of the unemployment war.

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