High jobless rate adds billions to deficit

From Thehill.com

High unemployment means more unemployment checks and less tax revenue, costing the government roughly $100 billion annually, said Stan Collender, a former congressional budget aide. Those costs will persist for the next couple of years, if economists are correct in predicting the jobless rate will average more than 9 percent through 2011.

Unemployment compensation rose from $47 billion in fiscal 2008 to $120 billion in 2009, a 156 percent jump.