But the White House is preparing to release unemployment figures designed to show the US economy is turning around. President Obama is expected to forecast an unemployment rate close to 8.9 percent in 2012 for his annual budget to be released Monday. But White House officials say the projection is actually lower.
White House official Alan Krueger said in a statement issued by the White House: “”The forecast of the unemployment rate that will accompany the budget should be considered stale and out of date.”
The comment shows that there is conflicting information coming out of Washington on the scale of unemployment around the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that unemployment is on the decline.
Last November employment forecasts coming from the White
House put the unemployment rate at 9 percent. Over the holidays, that number dropped a bit and then fluctuated. Last month, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent as employers added 243,000 new jobs. It’s lowest rate in three years.
However, experts say the unofficial numbers for the nation’s jobless are MUCH higher as unemployment in minority communities lingers in the double digits to as much as 17% by some predictions.
The White House says President Obama will be evaluating monthly employment reports looking for any unexpected dips in jobless rates.