Wanted: Leadership on Jobs

By every meaningful measure, the weak job market deteriorated further in September. Federal stimulus spending has prevented an even worse decline. But that is cold comfort for the tens of millions of working men and women for whom conditions are bleak and getting bleaker, and for the millions more who are destined to lose their jobs — or to have their hours and compensation cut — in the months and years to come.

Congress must enact emergency unemployment benefits without delay. Equally important, the Obama administration must flesh out its commitment to ensure that economic recovery does not leave middle-class and low-income families behind.