White House: 10 percent jobless rate ahead

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate will climb to at least 10 percent "in the next two to three months," a White House spokesman said Thursday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs -- speaking hours after the government reported the economy lost 467,000 last month and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent -- said the administration is confident the economic recovery plan will work and he called income growth a hopeful sign. But he said job losses will continue.

"In the next two to three months, I think, it's quite clear that we'll hit that number … We're definitely headed toward 10 percent," he said.

Gibbs noted the economy must create about 150,000 jobs a month just to retain the same unemployment rate. He said the average monthly job loss had dropped to 436,000 for the most recent quarter, compared with nearly 700,000 for the one immediately preceding it.

"There is a sense that the beginnings of stabilization are taking hold," Gibbs said.

He said 1,900 construction projects are in progress as a result of the recovery plan.

The White House, he said, will keep a close watch on the California budget crisis and on other states struggling with the economic downturn. Gibbs confirmed California had sought emergency aid from the U.S. Treasury Department and said the administration would consider proposals from other states.

He said about $144 billion in federal healthcare and education funding is already going directly to states.

"But obviously, each of these states, like is happening at kitchen tables across the country and in Washington, we're all going to have to make some very, very tough choices," Gibbs said.