Thea paucity of new ideas on how to get the economy moving again has led Democrats in Congress to simply propose more of the same; another 13 week increase in unemployment benefits for workers:

An unattributed New York Times story:

Mr. Obama suggested that a health care overhaul would help revive the economy and create jobs. The president's remarks, in his weekly radio and Internet address, came as the White House and Congressional Democrats considered steps to help the unemployed, including extending enhanced unemployment benefits past December, continuing a tax credit for workers who have been laid off and extending a tax credit for first-time home buyers.

The jobless numbers, released by the Labor Department on Friday, showed that the unemployment rate for September had risen to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent and that 263,000 jobs were lost last month.

The House on Friday approved legislation that would provide 13 more weeks of benefits to states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or higher. Democratic leaders in the Senate are pushing a measure that would also provide aid to states that do not meet the threshold.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, is promoting legislation that would provide four more weeks of unemployment coverage to all states, while states over the 8.5 percent threshold would get 12 more weeks.

Lawrence H. Summers, director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview with The Atlantic online that the administration should "continue to support people who are in need, whether it's unemployment insurance, or the Cobra program," which provides health insurance for the unemployed.

In his address, Mr. Obama said there had been progress compared with last winter, when the job market was "losing an average of 700,000 jobs each month." But the president described the report as a reminder that a recovery would be long and halting.