America’s unemployment rate now stands at 10.2 percent, the first time that the country’s jobless rate has been in double digits in more than 25 years. In response today, President Obama signed into law legislation that extends unemployment benefits for the fourth time in the past 18 months.

The economy may be rebounding, but it probably won’t seem that way when the government releases its monthly employment report this morning.

Usually, a drop in the state unemployment rate would be seen as a good sign, but that may not be the case this month.

The federal economic stimulus package has saved or created more than 13,000 jobs in Ohio, according to a state report released Tuesday.

Jobless workers in imminent danger of losing their unemployment benefits would get a 13-week reprieve under legislation approved by the House on Tuesday.

Despite predictions the Great Recession is running out of steam, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries.

State officials say Ohio’s jobless rate has fallen for the first time in a year—to 10.8 percent in August, from 11.2 percent in July.

The unemployment rate jumped almost half a point to 9.7 percent in August, the highest since 1983.

Unemployment benefits are running out for thousands of Ohioans. With federal stimulus funds, unemployment benefits stretched to 79 weeks, but for nearly 9,000 Ohioans, that money ran out Monday.

The weak economy is especially hard on people with disabilities looking for work, which face unemployment rates many times higher than the state average. 

Ohio’s unemployment rate ticks up a notch to 11.2 percent in July, another level not seen for more than a quarter century.

Employers throttled back on layoffs in July, cutting just 247,000 jobs, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent, its first decline in 15 months.

The county in Ohio’s northwest corner continues to lead the state in unemployment.

Growing numbers of Dayton-area job seekers are turning to nonprofit groups for help with resumes and interview attire amid the weak job market.

A wide range of job losses has pushed Ohio unemployment higher for the seventh month in a row, to 11.1 percent in June.