High Unemployment Will Last 'Years'

Larry Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, said Friday that the nation's unemployment rate will most likely stay "unacceptably high" for years. “The level of unemployment is unacceptably high,” Summers told reporters. “And will, by all forecasts, remain unacceptably high for a number of years.” Summers still praised his boss's $787 billion stimulus package, saying it helped stave off even greater economic suffering. The unemployment rate is at a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, and 6.9 million jobs have been lost in the recession overall. High unemployment has the potential to trip up Democrats in 2010, who hope to claim the stimulus as a victory.