WASHINGTON, DC - Today, following reports that Rhode Island's unemployment rate climbed to 10 percent last month, the highest level ever published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), issued the following statement:

"The number of unemployed Rhode Islanders has nearly doubled over the past year. Our state and the nation are facing a recession and we need to accelerate efforts to pass an economic recovery plan. Federal aid should be targeted to states like Rhode Island that have been hit the hardest and need the most help.

"I am working with my colleagues in Congress to extend and boost unemployment benefits for job seekers, provide states with additional money to deal with budget shortfalls, and invest in public works projects that will create jobs and improve our roads, bridges, and aging infrastructure.

"Families need help and we need to provide targeted assistance where it is needed most. The federal government needs to take swift action and provide additional assistance to create new jobs, cut taxes, and provide assistance to people who are looking for work."

Earlier this month, Reed and several other members of Congress wrote a letter to the Senate leadership urging additional federal assistance for states that have been hit hardest by high unemployment rates. This could be accomplished either by including a state's unemployment rate into the allocation formula, or providing an additional funding source for high unemployment states.

In November, Congress passed Reed's initiative to extend $6 billion of jobless benefits and additional help to states like Rhode Island that have unemployment rates above the national average. Unemployment insurance provides laid-off workers with the means to pay for basic necessities while they search for a new job or retrain for a new career. Reed's legislation provides 7 weeks of unemployment insurance for eligible unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits and an additional 13 weeks of benefits to job seekers in states like Rhode Island that have unemployment rates above the national average.