HispanicBusiness

The good news about the growth rate of 3.5 percent for the US economy, during the third quarter, were overshadowed by the unemployment rate approaching ominously almost 10 percent, the much feared double digit threshold.

The issue dominated the last meeting of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a team of external advisors, headed by the legendary former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker. According to the Wall Street Journal, the meeting stopped short of proposing increases in federal spending and recommended job creation measures, that will not increase the federal deficit.

The question is if the fact that employment is lagging behind the economic reactivation demands further stimulus, or if other concerns should prevail, such as the budget deficit. According to the Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman, unemployment is lagging because the approved stimulus "helped, but it wasn't big enough."

The release this week of both, the statement by the last meeting of the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve and the last figures of employment in October, will help clarify if the Obama Administration will decide to stay the course, or if it will seek the approval of another economic stimulus package.

There is a sense of urgency. Some Democrats are concerned that if unemployment reaches double digits, by the mid term elections of next November, they will lose control of the House and the Senate. Additionally, there is also concern that if double-digit unemployment persists until 2012, President Obama will be a one term President.

Isaac Cohen is the Former Director, Washington Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). He also serves as a commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Espaņol TV and radio.