Unemployment rate in the US stuck at 9.1%, Obama urges passage of jobs bill

The unemployment rate in America remains unchanged at 9.1 percent in September.

Since declining from a high of 10.1 percent in October 2009, unemployment in the US has remained persistent. While there was improvement during 2010, unemployment rate is stuck in the past 3 months.

Some economists fear the recovery is so slow that the United States could soon tip back into recession. To "help guard against another downturn here in America," President Barrack Obama urged the US Senate to pass his nearly $450 billion jobs bill this week as senators prepare to vote Tuesday on moving to debate on the measure.

"But if we don't act, the opposite will be true," President Obama in his weekly Internet and radio address. "There will be fewer jobs and weaker growth. So any senator out there who's thinking about voting against this jobs bill needs to explain why they would oppose something that we know would improve our economic situation."

However, Obama's jobs plans which include reduced payroll taxes on workers and employers, extended benefits to long-term unemployed people, and increased taxes on individuals earning over $200,000 a year, face stiff opposition from Republicans.

The US Labor Department had meanwhile reported an increase in job creation. A total of 103,000 jobs were reportedly created in September, providing a rare point of hope even as the unemployment rate remained painfully high.

According to the official figures, the US economy was growing at much stronger clip than expected but not enough to lower the unemployment rate from what it is now.

Reports from ABC, AFP and AP. Photo courtesy of Wakeupamericans-spree (Blogspot)