With tens of millions of Americans unemployed, and millions more struggling to survive on a minimum wage, the rapid spread of poverty and insufficient access to welfare have combined to form what some analysts are calling a 'social state of emergency' in the United States.

If you count all the people unemployed or underemployed in the US today, you have a population of almost 30mn - a country about the size of Canada.

Since last year's stimulous package there has been no major response from the government. On the frontlines frustration is growing - as is the hunger for alternatives.

This week, Fault Lines looks at the crisis of unemployment in America, asking how the country got here, and what needs to be done to fix it.

Is the Obama administration is doing enough to respond to the crisis? Are there solutions?

Fault Lines travels to some of the regions hardest hit by the recession, tracking some creative measures taken by local communities to combat the jobs crisis from the bottom up.

The investigation on unemployment in the US can be seen on Fault Lines from Thursday, April 8, at the following times GMT: Thursday: 0600, 1630; Friday: 0130, 0830; Saturday: 1130, 2330; Sunday: 0630, 2030; Monday: 1430; Tuesday: 1230, 1930; Wednesday: 0300.