President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that the U.S. jobless rate Likely to Tick Up for Several Months !!!

Tuesday evening, Mr. Obama will throw out the first pitch at the Major League All-Star Game in St. Louis. Asked if he's been practicing, he acknowledged that he wanted to loosen his arm up a little bit.

President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that the U.S. jobless rate, already at its highest level in more than a quarter century, is likely to worsen for several months. "My expectation is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months,"

Mr. Obama told reporters after a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. Unemployment stood at 9.5% nationwide last month, a rate that has prompted calls for additional stimulus measures, as well as criticism that the earlier $787 billion package has so far failed to create jobs. Mr. Obama, who has said he believes joblessness will soon hit 10%, will visit Michigan later Tuesday, a state already dealing with double-digit unemployment. On the positive side, he said the U.S. has "seen some stabilization in the financial markets, and that's good because that means companies can borrow and banks are starting to lend again."

"The challenge for this administration is to make sure that even as we are stabilizing the financial system, we understand that the most important thing in the economy is people able to find good jobs that pay good wages," Mr. Obama said. "I just wanted to keep it high," Mr. Obama said of his strategy last year. "There was no clock on it, I don't know how fast it went, but if it exceeded 30 miles per hour I'd be surprised. But it did clear the plate."