[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18495]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           ALABAMA IS SUFFERING FROM A HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

  (Mr. ADERHOLT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, in February, the administration assured us 
that if Congress would pass the stimulus bill, then we would see 
immediate relief and halt unemployment at 8 percent; yet it is now 9.5 
percent on average, and it's rising. But the jobs have yet to appear. 
So where are the jobs?
  This problem hits home for me because Alabama is suffering from a 
greater unemployment rate than the national trend. Mr. Speaker, the 
Alabama unemployment rate topped 10 percent in June. It is the highest 
level since July of 1984. The June rate of 10.1 percent is up from 9.8 
percent in the previous month of May.
  At this time last year, Alabama's jobless rate was half that at only 
4.6 percent. The current unemployment rate is 10.1 percent. That 
represents over 215,000 unemployed Alabamians. The congressional 
district that I represent is suffering even more with an unemployment 
rate of about 12 percent, and that's on the average.
  At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, the 
unemployment rate is rising, further evidence that we cannot borrow and 
spend our way back to a growing economy.

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