INSTITUTE INDEX: The looming unemployment crisis

Number of Americans who are currently unemployed: 14.8 million

Average duration of their unemployment: 33.9 weeks

October's overall unemployment rate, essentially unchanged since May: 9.6 percent

Unemployment rate for the South*, according to the latest available numbers: 9.3 percent

Current unemployment rate for whites: 8.8 percent

For Hispanics: 12.6 percent

For blacks: 15.7 percent

For teenagers: 27.1 percent

Number of consecutive months that unemployment has topped 9 percent: 18

Number of American workers out of work for six months or more: more than 6.2 million

Number of jobs the economy added in October: 151,000

If the rate of job growth were to continue at October's rate, number of years it would take for the economy to achieve pre-recession unemployment rates: roughly 20 years

If all current job openings were filled by jobless workers, number of people who would remain without work: 11 million

Number of unemployed workers who will have their unemployment benefits cut off next month if Congress fails to act: 2 million

Amount of money that unemployment benefits pump into the economy every month: about $6.8 billion

Date when Congress returns for a lame-duck session: 11/15

Date when the unemployment benefits extension is set to expire: 11/30

*Facing South counts among the Southern states Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia

(Click on figure to go to the source.)