A) By visiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, find the latest unemployment rate available for New York State. How does the unemployment rate of your state compare to that of the U.S. as a whole? What factors do you feel most contribute to your state's unemployment numbers?  

Bureau of Labor Statistics:  http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htmand  http://www.bls.gov/home.htm

The World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS 

B) Regarding long-term unemployment, what incentives do you believe the long-term unemployed face with unemployment insurance programs? As part of your answer, make sure to address what impact these programs have on the economy of a country.