Jobless Claims Hit Half A Million

In a disappointing turn of events, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits hit half a million last week. The represents the highest unemployment numbers since November of 2009. This also marks the third week in a row claims have increased, which is a major disappointment to those who thought the economy was recovering.

"These numbers are important because they indicate the rate of growth in the economy is weakening and that the rate for growth is now insufficient to stop unemployment from rising," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics.

The latest jobless claims numbers, released by the Labor Department today, mark the third straight week that they've risen. In a healthy economy, jobless claims usually drop below 400,000. Right now, they've risen to 500,000.

In Washington, the grim numbers prompted a statement from President Obama.

"This morning's news that unemployment claims rose again compels us to act," he said this morning, touting a plan to promote hiring by small business.

Continue reading at ABCNews.com…

Obama Keeps Pressure on GOP on Jobless Aid

In an ongoing fight to extend unemployment benefits to thousands of struggling Americans, President Obama is urging Republican Senators to vote in favor of the bill today. Some experts predict they Democratic party already has enough votes to avoid a filibuster, but President Obama reportedly does not want to take any risks. If passed, the bill would provide aid to an estimated 2.5 million unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits have expired.

Once Senate passage of $33.9 billion in extra funds is also approved by the House, a step expected this week, money will begin flowing to jobless workers across the country. California, New York, Florida and Illinois are among the states with the highest numbers of jobless whose benefits have expired. The benefits would be retroactive to June and last through November.

The defeat of the GOP filibuster is considered assured. The move requires 60 votes, a mark Senate Democrats will reach Tuesday after their newest member, Carte Goodwin of West Virginia, is sworn in to take the place of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. A key vote will take place minutes after Goodwin takes his place in the Senate.

Nonetheless, President Obama sought to increase pressure on Republicans Monday, appearing in the White House Rose Garden to press his election-year message that the GOP is blocking financial help to struggling Americans.

Continue reading at LA Times.com…

New Jobless Claims Drop By 11,000

It seems like there have been plenty of new reports regarding the economy, and yesterday it was reported that Americans filed 11,000 less jobless claims last week than the week before.

Although this is good news, the national unemployment is still at 9.7%, and an estimated 448,000 Americans out of work. Check out the following story from Washington Post regarding the new jobless reports.

Continuing unemployment claims last week rose slightly to 4.66 million, up from 4.64 million the previous week.

The four-week moving average on new jobless claims, which smoothes out volatility in the data, rose 1,500 to 462,500. This bump up is so small as to be nearly statistically insignificant. If the four-week moving average begins to flatten and then eventually turn downward, the economy will get closer to creating new jobs.

Forecasters expected last week's number to come in at 448,000.

The official U.S. unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. The April number will be released next Friday and forecasters expect the number to remain unchanged. Economists say that the unemployment rate will stay near 10 percent through the end of the year.

Generally, economists say that new job growth can't begin until the new jobless claims number gets down into the low 400,000s or upper 300,000s and stays there. This time last week, the economy was shedding 700,000 new jobs per week. And though the number is much better this year, the weekly jobless claims number remains stubbornly stuck in the mid-400,000s.

More Than 200,000 Jobless Counting On An Extension

A million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits this month if the Senate does not act quickly to extend the benefits, as well as deadline to file. According to CNNMoney.com, Senators are supposed to vote when they come back on Monday, but if they wait until later in the week it could leave thousands of Americans without benefits.

These folks were expected to stop getting checks this week after lawmakers failed to extend an April 5 deadline to file for federally-paid benefits before adjourning for a two-week recess. A total of a million people could lose benefits this month if the Senate doesn't act, according to the National Employment Law Project.

When they return Monday, senators are scheduled to take the first vote needed to push back the deadline until early May.

A final vote, however, is unlikely to come until later next week. Monday's move is a procedural step that simply allows lawmakers to consider the bill. Democrats need at least one Republican to join them to get the legislation past this hurdle.

Though the measure generally enjoys bipartisan support, it has gotten caught in the divisive politics pervading Capitol Hill. Republicans blocked the extension's passage late last month, saying the $9 billion bill should be paid for.

Continue reading at CNN Money.com…

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall More Than Forecast to One-Month Low

According to new reports, the number of applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell again last week, leading to a one-month low. There were 440,000 claims during the week that ended on February 6^th, which represented a 43,000 decrease from the week prior. The total number of people receiving extended benefits also decreased, according to the Labor Department. Economists point to these numbers as a sign that companies are firing fewer workers, and that business recovery is starting to take place.

The fastest pace of growth in six years last quarter means the economy may be poised to add jobs as companies restock shelves to keep pace with increased sales. The Obama administration today projected payrolls will grow by 95,000 a month on average this year, indicating it will take a long time to recover the 8.4 million jobs lost since the recession began.

“Healing is under way, but this process will take time,” said Raymond Stone, managing director of Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Skillman, New Jersey, who correctly forecast the drop in claims. “We are moving in the right direction and I think we will see some job growth” in coming months.

Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as disappointment that European leaders didn’t provide specific solutions to solve the Greece’s debt crisis offset the drop in claims. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,071.82 at 11:36 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities fell.

Continue reading at Bloomberg.com…

Higher Jobless Rates Could Be “New Normal”

Some economists are shedding a new and interesting light on the economic recovery and the future of job losses by saying it could be the “new normal”. They assert that we cannot expect to recover from this recession like we have from those before because of heavy losses in the banking and automobile industry. Check out the following article on the “new normal” from the Associated Press.

Even with an economic revival, many U.S. jobs lost during the recession may be gone forever and a weak employment market could linger for years.

That could add up to a "new normal" of higher joblessness and lower standards of living for many Americans, some economists are suggesting.

The words "it's different this time" are always suspect. But economists and policy makers say the job-creating dynamics of previous recoveries can't be counted on now.

Here's why:

• The auto and construction industries helped lead the nation out of past recessions. But the carnage among Detroit's automakers and the surplus of new and foreclosed homes and empty commercial properties make it unlikely these two industries will be engines of growth anytime soon.

• The job market is caught in a vicious circle: Without more jobs, U.S. consumers will have a hard time increasing their spending; but without that spending, businesses might see little reason to start hiring.

• Many small and midsize businesses are still struggling to obtain bank loans, impeding their expansion plans and constraining overall economic growth.

Continue reading at Yahoo News…

Jobless Rate Bolts to 14-year High of 6.5 Percent

From Yahoo Business News:

The nation's unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market quickly eroding. The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.

Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.

October's decline marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions, and government revisions showed that job losses in August and September turned out to be much deeper. Employers cut 127,000 positions in August, compared with 73,000 previously reported. A whopping 284,000 jobs were axed in September, compared with the 159,000 jobs first reported.

So far this year, a staggering 1.2 million jobs have disappeared. Over half of the decrease occurred in the past three months alone.

Although the unemployment report was worse than expected, and Ford Motor Co. reported dismal third-quarter results and announced plans to cut more than 2,000 additional white-collar jobs, Wall Street investors appeared to take it all in stride. The Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 190 points in morning trading.

About 10.1 million people were unemployed in October, an increase of 2.8 million over the past year. A year ago, the unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent.

President Bush said the dismal employment figures reflect "the difficult challenges confronting the economy" and urged the country to have patience, saying a flurry of unprecedented government measures -- including a $700 billion financial bailout package -- will take time to work.

"I understand that Americans deeply concerned about the challenges facing our economy, but our economy has overcome great challenges before, and we can be confident that it will do so again," Bush said.

Hawaii’s Jobless Rate Up Last Month

According to Biz Journals, last month Hawaii has a jobless rate of 2.6%. The rate is one of the lowest in the nation, but it’s up from only 2.3% one year ago. The increase has prompted the Labor Department to include Hawaii among the states with "statistically significant" changes in the jobs picture. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.