Labor

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Scott Dressel who has put most of his retirement savings into buying and restoring homes in Steubenville, Ohio has partnered with others in the city to buy and renovate the Grand Theatre in downtown to help spur economic development, Steubenville, Ohio, Saturday, October 27, 2012. Once a productive steel town, Steubenville, Ohio's population has contracted faster than anywhere else in the country between 1980 and 2000 as their steel plants shut down. The area has seen a drop in unemployment in recent years due in part to the prospects of natural gas but the city still has a long way to go with unemployment figures higher then the the rest of the state and the country. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A boot hangs from a highway sign exit for downtown Steubenville, Ohio, Saturday, October 27, 2012. Once a productive steel town, Steubenville, Ohio's population has contracted faster than anywhere else in the country between 1980 and 2000 as their steel plants shut down. The area has seen a drop in unemployment in recent years due in part to the prospects of natural gas but the city still has a long way to go with unemployment figures higher then the the rest of the state and the country. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Passengers are pictured in the underground during a subway strike in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Unemployment in the 17-country eurozone rose to a record of 11.6 percent in September as large parts of the region slide further toward recession. Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone at 25.8 percent with Greece not far behind. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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People wait to buy goods in a chocolate shop, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Unemployment in the 17-country eurozone rose to a record of 11.6 percent in September as large parts of the region slide further toward recession. Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone at 25.8 percent and Greece is not far behind. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

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A job seeker looks over an employment brochure at the National Job Fair in Atlanta on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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Former Virginia Gov. George Allen, who is running for U.S. Senate, shakes hands with Steve Riley of West Springfield, Va., while talking with him and his wife Kathy following a town hall meeting at Joe Ragan's Coffee House in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Allen talked with attendees about their concerns, including health care and creating jobs. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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George Allen, former Virginia governor who is running for U.S. Senate, listens to Virginians at a town hall meeting at Joe Ragan's Coffee House in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Allen talked with attendees about their concerns, including health care and creating jobs. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Former Virginia Gov. George Allen, who is running for U.S. Senate, has a town hall meeting at Joe Ragan's Coffee House in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Allen talked with attendees about their concerns, including health care and creating jobs. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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An arbitrator ruled Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe retaliated against the president D.C. firefighters union by transferring him to another job and seeking to manufacture a justification for the move. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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A truck passes a political sign in a yard in Dellslow, W.Va., on Oct. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Vicki Smith) ** FILE **

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The United States has hired Tom Sermanni as its new U.S. women's coach. Sermanni had coached Australia for the last eight years. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)

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Steubenville’s decline has been extreme. Unemployment in the once-prosperous Ohio steel mill town topped 15 percent two years ago. The jobless rate as of last month still stood at 10.6 percent. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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J.J. Alexander of Steubenville, Ohio, walks past an old Hardy's fast food building which will be used as a new call center in downtown, Steubenville, Ohio, Saturday, October 27, 2012. Alexander is a dishwasher for the local Smokey Bones and Robinson Restaurant and has been able to find regular work but says he has friends and family members who are struggling. Once a productive steel town, Steubenville, Ohio's population has contracted faster than anywhere else in the country between 1980 and 2000 as their steel plants shut down. The area has seen a drop in unemployment in recent years due in part to the prospects of natural gas but the city still has a long way to go with unemployment figures higher then the the rest of the state and the country. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)