[THS] US Economy Deeper in Trouble

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

U.S. Food Prices 'Spiraling Out of Control':

U.S. food prices jumped by 2.4 percent in March 2010 in the largest monthly leap in
more than 26 years, and the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=7169.5711.0.0

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Food-stamp tally nears 40 million, sets record:

The Agriculture Department said 39.68 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, were
enrolled for food stamps during February, an increase of 260,000 from January.
USDA updated its figures on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6465E220100507

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Unemployment rate rises to 9.9%:

Some 800,000 workers reentered the job market last month. Many of them did not
find jobs, so the unemployment rate increased from 9.7 to 9.9 percent.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/economy-
watch/2010/05/unemployment_rate_rises_to_99.html

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Broader U-6 Unemployment Rate Increases to 17.1% in April:

The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.9% in April, the first increase in three months, but the
government's broader measure of unemployment ticked up for the third month in a
row, rising 0.2 percentage point to 17.1%.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/05/07/broader-u-6-unemployment-rate-
increases-to-171-in-april/

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Unemployment insurance system is in crisis:

A record 20 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last year, and twenty-
six states have run out of funds and been forced to borrow from the federal
government, raise taxes, or cut benefits.
http://projects.propublica.org/unemployment/