Amerika

The nation’s official unemployment rate increased to nine percent in April, although the private sector added 268,000 jobs in the month. Some 13.7 million people were counted as unemployed. Meanwhile, several states are taking steps to dismantle the unemployment insurance system. In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is soon expected to sign a bill to cut unemployment benefits immediately by 11.5 percent. Unemployed workers would lose all benefits after no more than 23 weeks, instead of 26. The bill also cuts the business tax by 10 percent, which pays for unemployment benefits.
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The Associated Press is reporting CEOs at the nation’s largest companies received giant pay increases in 2010. The typical pay package for a head of a company in the S&P 500 was $9 million last year—24 percent higher than a year before. Philippe Dauman, the CEO of Viacom, took in $84.5 million last year, two-and-a-half times what he made the year before.