A D.C. Council committee will hold hearings this week on the proposed Stimulus Accountability Act, which would require all businesses that receive federal stimulus grants through the District government to post their available jobs on the DOES Web site and then report how many jobs went to city residents. The bill was introduced by Councimen Kwame Brown and Harry Thomas Jr.
Brown called on the Fenty administration “to spend just as much money investing in adult job training as they do in building garage parking for bicycles.”
Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi predicted 11 percent unemployment for D.C. during the economic downturn, but he said nothing about 12 percent. The District, he told a congressional subcommittee last week, has been “profoundly affected financially by the depth and duration of the recession.”
The national jobless rate in October reached 10.2 percent, up 0.4 percent over September.
» Civilian labor force 329,900, up from 327,000 in September
» Total employed 290,600, unchanged from September
» Total unemployed 39,300, up from 37,300 in September and 25,700 one year ago
