INSTITUTE INDEX: The Senate sticks it to the jobless

The nation's unemployment rate in June, according to a government report issued today: 9.5%

The unemployment rate in May: 9.7%

Number of people who dropped out of the labor force in June, pushing down the unemployment rate: 652,000

The June unemployment rate according to a broader government measure that accounts for workforce dropouts: 16.5%

Percentage points by which that number dropped from May: 0.1

Number of Americans who are currently looking for work: 14 million

Number of Americans who have been out of a job now for more than 27 weeks: 6.8 million

Total number of jobs the U.S. economy lost in June: 125,000

Total number of jobs it added in June: 100,000

Number of jobs that need to be added each month just to keep up with labor force growth: 130,000

Total number of U.S. jobs lost since the recession started in December 2007: 7.4 million

Date on which the U.S. Senate voted to kill a bill that would have extended long-term benefits to the unemployed: 6/30/2010

Number of times it has done so this year: 4

Approximate number of workers expected to lose their benefits each week as a consequence: 34,000

Number of states where union members and other activists are planning rallies to protest the vote: 20

(Click on figure to go to the source.)

(Photo of unemployment line from the state of Missouri.)