Defense Industry Says Budget Cuts May Cost 2 Million Jobs
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Across-the-board cuts to federal programs may cost the U.S. 2.14 million jobs and reduce the gross domestic product by $215 billion next year, according to a study funded by defense contractors lobbying to forestall the reductions.
The study of $1.2 trillion in scheduled defense and domestic cuts over a decade found the unemployment rate may increase as much as 1.5 percentage points next year unless Congress and President Barack Obama act to prevent them from taking effect beginning Jan. 2. The nation’s unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in June.