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The U.S. economy has entered a recession that will be
deep and lead to increased unemployment, a senior official with the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce told reporters Thursday. “We are currently in — or the National Bureau of Economic
Research will shortly determine we’re in — a recession,” said Bruce Josten, the
business lobby’s executive vice president for government affairs.
He said the recession “will not be a shallow recession,”
and predicted unemployment could rise to as high as 7 percent in 2009.
The national unemployment rate is 6.1 percent, but
Washington and Wall Street are bracing for the release Friday of a new
Department of Labor jobs report that could show significant job losses. The
National Bureau of Economic Research is the body that actually determines
whether the U.S. economy has entered a recession.
Josten made the comments at a news conference the Chamber
held about the elections, which Chamber President Tom Donohue said resulted in
a tougher environment for business.
Given the make-up of the new government, Donohue said it
will be more difficult to advance certain business provisions and much harder
to stop some anti-business provisions. At the same time, he said the Chamber
stood ready to work with President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic
Congress.
Donohue noted that the group and Obama have several
shared priorities, including rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and
reforming schools.
He warned that, early in his administration, Obama should
not try to move the Employee Free Choice Act, union-backed legislation that
would do away with the secret ballot votes unions now must use to organize
workers. Approval of the bill would have “serious implications” for the U.S.
economy, Donohue said.
The Chamber advertised heavily in several Senate races,
where it criticized Democratic candidates’ support for the Employee Free Choice
Act. One of the business lobby’s goals was to prevent Democrats from winning a
60-seat majority, which would make it more difficult to filibuster union-backed
bills.
Democrats have picked up six Senate seats so far. Donohue
said stopping the Employee Free Choice Act is “not going to be a walk in the
park.”
He emphasized the need to stimulate the economy, and
expressed support for approving a stimulus package as early as a lame-duck
session of Congress. Donohue said a stimulus should help stabilize the
financial system and offer support for the housing market and the auto
industry, which the Chamber does not want to see go into bankruptcy.
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