In his first press conference following his historic election victory, US President-elect Barack Obama urged the Bush administration and the current Congress to quickly pass a second economic stimulus package. Saying that addressing the current economic crisis was his first priority, Obama made it clear that if a stimulus package was not passed by the current government, it would be the very first thing he would push for following his January 20 inauguration.

In expressing the need for the new package, the President-elect stressed his belief that current economic conditions necessitated an extension of unemployment benefits as an "urgent priority."

The press conference, which took place Friday November 7, was a stark reminder of the immense task the new President will face once he takes office. As if to underscore the sheer weight of economic problems facing the country, the US Labor Department released a report the same day highlighting a larger than expected unemployment rate. With a loss of 240,000 jobs in October, the rate is now at a 14-year high of 6.5%.

The release of the October numbers was seen as an even stronger indicator of a rapidly weakening economy, especially in light of analyst's earlier predictions of slightly lower job loss numbers of 200,000 or 6.3%. The new figures bring the total number of jobs lost in 2008 to a staggering 1.2 million.

The news appears to only get worse from there. US investment bank Goldman Sachs recently released its own figures predicting a continued worsening of the employment situation could lead to an unemployment rate of 8.5% by next year.

In addition to a new stimulus package, President-elect Obama has also pledged to address the turmoil in the auto manufacturing industry. Calling it the "backbone of American manufacturing," he said he would continue to review the $700 billion financial bailout plan passed in early October to ensure that it was properly stabilizing markets while not inappropriately compensating corporate executives.

In a measure seen as indicative of his commitment to help the ailing auto industry, the President-elect has invited Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm to join his council of economic advisors. Detroit, Michigan is home to the nation's major auto makers, including General Motors, which is also the world's largest.

Granholm is part of a group of 6 governors who recently sent a letter asking the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to provide greater financial assistance to the ailing auto industry.