NEW YORK, NY July 13, 2009 —City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson says a new report by his office indicates the city's unemployment rate probably won't improve until next year, and he says Mayor Bloomberg is not taking the right steps to ease the problem.

REPORTER: The report says the unemployment rate has more than doubled since February 2008, and is rising among African-Americans four times faster than other ethnic groups.

THOMPSON: Mayor Bloomberg continues to put forth policies that show he neither sees nor comprehends the struggles of working New Yorkers. Instead, his proposals benefit a few at the expense of many.

REPORTER: Thompson says among those proposals is Bloomberg's push for an increase in the sales tax, which the comptroller says will hurt New Yorkers who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.