The economy has taken a serious turn for the worse for workers and their families. There has been a significant surge in unemployment, and Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio are some of many states that have been hit particularly hard.

The nation’s unemployment rate reached a five-year high of 6.1 percent in September. Nearly 10 million Americans were officially unemployed last month and still actively looking for work. Unemployment claims are now at a seven-year high, with nearly 500,000 workers applying for benefits every week.
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On August 26, the Census Bureau released new data on poverty and health insurance coverage for 2007. The statistics show that, despite economic growth over the past few years, the number of Americans living in poverty was greater in 2007 than in the recession year of 2001.
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