The bad news just keeps rolling in. It's a never-ending summer for those still without power from Hurricane Irene. But it's an even longer summer for those who are unemployed. And for those who have stopped looking for jobs and have fallen off the jobs statistics radar.

The Bureau of Labour Statistics released its statistics on August job growth in America, and it wasn't pretty. There was none. The American economy added absolutely no new jobs in August for the first time in a year.

Most economists had predicted the figures would show at least some job gains. Instead, the August report raised fresh fears of a double dip recession, while unemployment was stuck 9.1% . That figure itself was unimaginable just 3 years ago -- and few would have predicted that it would still be so high in 2011. From ABC:

Another disappointing sign was a drop in the average workweek to 34.2 hours from 34.3 hours. Average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent when economists were expecting an increase of 0.2 percent. All this means people will have less money to spend, creating yet more drag on the economy and less demand for hiring.

A more accurate portrait of jobless America may be 16 percent to 20 percent, according to some experts. That's because the jobless numbers don't count people who have stopped looking for work or legions of underemployed, like Nichelle Gainer, 41, who clocks 25 to 29 hours at her retail position before heading home to her cousin's house. It's her new place of residence since she became underemployed.

In all, the economy has added an average of just 35,000 jobs in the last three months, the LA Times reports -- a figure so small that most analysts would consider it a rounding error.

U.S. President Barack Obama will introduce a plan to stimulate the national economy and create jobs in a speech before a joint session of Congress next Thursday.

Let's hope it's a good one.