With unemployment more than 10 percent in October, the highest percentage since 1983, President Obama signed a bill today that he says will grow the economy.

While there has been much improvement, Obama said, “history tells us that job growth always lags behind economic growth, which is why we have to continue to pursue measures that will create new jobs.” The new bill extends the length of time unemployed Americans can receive benefits, cuts taxes for some small businesses and extends a tax break for first-time homebuyers.

Obama noted that it takes a lot of time and patience to strengthen the economy, but “I promise that I won’t rest until America prospers once again.”

Yesterday was not President Obama’s first visit to New Orleans after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, but it was his first time as the head of federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security who came under criticism for their response in the immediate aftermath of the crisis.

At a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans, the president acknowledged that the U.S. federal government “wasn’t adequately prepared and we didn’t adequately respond” in late August 2005, and there is still “a long way to go” towards a full recovery. “There are sewers and roads still to repair. There are houses and hospitals still vacant. There are schools and neighborhoods still waiting to thrive once more,” he said.

But progress has been made in getting more federal assistance to the city, reducing the number of residents living in emergency housing, and moving forward on stalled infrastructure, education and health projects, he said, and the Recovery Act has “put thousands of Gulf Coast residents back to work.”

“We will not forget about New Orleans,” he promised. “[T]here are too many folks out there who are having a tough time — to get tired,” and who are still working hard to rebuild their unique community.

“The story of this city’s resilience begins with all the men and women who refused to give up on their homes; who stayed to clean up and rebuild — not just their own homes or their own yards or their own lives, but their neighbors’, too,” he said.

The people of New Orleans “have reminded the rest of America what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy, to rebuild in the face of ruin,” Obama said.

This is a busy week for President Obama, as leaders from all over the world are coming to New York for the U.N. General Assembly and to Pittsburgh for the G-20 summit. In his weekly video address to Americans, the president spoke about his G-20 goals.

“At next week’s summit, we’ll have, in effect, a five-month checkup to review the steps each nation has taken – separately and together – to break the back of this economic crisis,” Obama said.

Progress has been made over the past few months, the president said, but more international cooperation is needed to strengthen rules governing financial markets.

“As the world’s largest economy, we must lead, not just by word, but by example, understanding that in the 21st century, financial crises know no borders,” Obama said.

The video and transcript of the president’s address is available on the White House Web site.

A year ago today, the investment banking firm Lehman Brothers collapsed, contributing to what many say was the beginning of the U.S. financial crisis. Speaking on New York’s Wall Street – commonly referred to as America’s financial capital - President Obama said while there have been economic improvements over the past year, “the work of recovery continues.”

The president called on Wall Street to support new regulations that would protect consumers and hold financial firms more accountable so that future financial crises could be avoided.

“While there continues to be a need for government involvement to stabilize the financial system, that necessity is waning,” Obama said. “But here’s what I want to emphasize today: Normalcy cannot lead to complacency.”

An interesting side note – President Obama gave his speech at Federal Hall – the same place where America’s first president, George Washington, was inaugurated. A transcript of the president’s speech is available on the White House Web site.

President Obama stepped away from vacationing to appoint Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term. The Federal Reserve Board, under Bernanke’s leadership, “has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall,” Obama said at Martha’s Vineyard.

“We are a long way away from completely healthy financial systems and a full economic recovery,” Obama said. “And I will not let up until those Americans who are looking for jobs can find them; until qualified businesses, large and small, who need capital to grow can find loans at a rate they can afford; and until all responsible mortgage-holders can stay in their homes. That’s why we need Ben Bernanke to continue the work he’s doing.”

The Senate will have to vote on and confirm Bernanke.

President Obama addressed participants of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Nairobi, Kenya August 5 via video. “I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world,” he told the group.

“In our global economy, our economic fortunes are shared,” he said. AGOA has transformed U.S.-African trade relations by opening new markets and providing incentives for entrepreneurs, Obama said.

“I hope you’re enjoying Kenya — and the hospitality of the Kenyan people — as much as I always have,” the president said. Obama, whose father is from Kenya, has visited the country a couple of times, most recently when he was a senator.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke at AGOA. For more, see “Clinton Says United States Believes in Africa’s Promise.”