The official US unemployment rate hovers around 8.6 percent (8.5 % as of today), but a better measure of the real jobless rate is called the “U-6” which stands at 15.6 percent (15.2 percent as of today).

Just when it looked like the job market was going to rebound, recent unemployment numbers revealed a disappointing reality.

The American economy is experiencing a crisis in long-term unemployment that has enormous human and economic costs.

President Barack Obama has been on a tour of college campuses touting proposals to lower student loan repayments for college graduates. He hopes to rekindle the enthusiasm of young voters, who in 2008 favored him over Sen. John McCain by more than two-to-one.

Ironically, these same young Americans...

Greece's economic and political unraveling could not be coming at a worse moment for President Obama. The crisis has the potential to send shock waves not simply through Europe but also through global financial markets on the very eve of the U.S. presidential election.

AEI labor expert Aparna Mathur explains what to expect for upcoming jobs numbers.

"Given the disappointing March numbers, it is unlikely that this month's report will show a huge improvement. It is likely that the economy will add 120,000-140,000 jobs--small numbers that suggest protracted periods of sluggish growth still lie ahead of us." Aparna Mathur, AEI