Another dismal jobs report shows that the recession is deepening and confirms the need for a substantial and well-targeted economic recovery package.  The assistance for unemployed workers described below should be a key component of that package.

The recession that began in December 2007 is now in its 13th month, and the economy is hemorrhaging jobs. The unemployment rate has surged above 7 percent to its highest point since January 1993.  his week the Congressional Budget Office stated that it anticipates the recession “will last until the second half of 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II.”