This morning on CNBC, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the fact that the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010 (as opposed to 10.1% in October 2009) “tells you...we’re on the right path.”

Contrary to her rhetoric, the facts show that the U.S. unemployment rate has been 9.5% or above for 15 consecutive months – the longest period since the Great Depression.  The unemployment rate hasn’t fallen since spring – when hundreds of thousands of temporary government Census jobs were “created.”  

Democrats promised us if their 2009 stimulus law passed, the unemployment rate would be 7% by now, which the chart below shows didn’t happen.  Clearly, a 9.6% unemployment rate is NOT the right path for American workers.  

 Sources: January 2009 Romer/Bernstein Report and actual U.S. Department of Labor data.

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