Jobless Rate Said Likely to Stay High Through 2010

The Obama administration is predicting little improvement in the nation's unemployment rate by the end of the year.

Although President Barack Obama says the multitrillion-dollar spending plan released Monday is designed to get Americans back to work, the administration forecasts 9.8 percent unemployment at the end of this year. That would be down only slightly from the current rate of 10 percent.

Those predictions are in line forecasts from independent economists. The administration is predicting 8.9 percent unemployment at the end of 2011, and 7.9 unemployment percent by the end of 2012.