WASHINGTON, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5: HELP FROM CITY HALL

Profile America — Tuesday, March 5th.  A severe economic panic, striking in 1893, led the city of Seattle to create the nation's first municipal unemployment assistance office on this date in 1894.  State and federal unemployment assistance wasn't established until the 1930s.  Recently, the national unemployment rate, as determined by the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, has settled to around 7.9 percent.  In 2010, Washington state's average was at the then-national average of 9.6 percent.  The most current unemployment rate is one of the statistics immediately accessible on the Census Bureau's mobile application, called "America's Economy."  You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 844
               Bureau of Labor Statistics
               Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 629

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau