Posted on 03/14/2013 7:26:04 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
New claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week for the third week in a row, signaling continuing improvement in the troubled jobs market, Labor Department data released Thursday showed.
Jobless claims, an indicator of the pace of layoffs across the country, totaled 332,000 in the week ending March 9, a drop of 10,000 from the prior week's revised number, the department said.
Last week's reading was the lowest since January 19, when jobless claims hit a five-year low.
The decline surprised analysts who on average expected claims to rise to 350,000
(Excerpt) Read more at globalpost.com ...
I know, personally, several people who lost jobs and are NOT applying for work because trying to get disability. They cannot apply for disability and unemployment at the same time--to draw unemployment, have to be able and available for work. They are declaring they are not able. I just wonder, nationwide, how great this number is.
Then, the published numbers NVER take into account the number of people who have just given up--able to work, but disheartened on job search. Many of them are on the dole or working several part time off the radar jobs--handyman, sitter, etc.-or both--drawing welfare of some type (food stamps, rent subsidy, medicaid, etc.
No way am I buying that unemployment is actually down and we are recovering.
vaudine
RE: I know, personally, several people who lost jobs and are NOT applying for work because trying to get disability.
OK, I’m not understanding this — ARE THEY REALLY DISABLED?
You don’t just say — “I want to apply for disability” without showing that you are disabled.
And how do you prove you qualify?
It's how they play the numbers.
There are no jobs. No jobs mean people aren't eligible to sign up for unemployment, because they've never worked or haven't worked long enough (temp jobs).
Kill ALL the jobs, and eventually the numbers would say we have 0% unemployment, because no one would be signing up for benefits. 0% is a great unemployment number, right? The numbers say everyone is working, but the exact opposite is true.
(The very few jobs that are popping up are government jobs, and they don't produce anything. They just add to the 17 trillion $ debt.)
There is no upside to this story. They're trying to spin the numbers in preparation of the 2014 elections. Expect the MSM to be touting this as the greatest recovery this country has ever had, because the numbers are so deceiving.
(They don't know the bond crash will be here in about two months (?). I can't wait to see how their money printers are going to explain that! Somehow, it has to be someone elses fault.)
A willing doctor and untestable condition like “back pain” can do quite a bit toward establishing a disability claim. Psychological disabilities are also becoming quite popular: ADD, ADHD, Aspergers, depression, anxiety, etc.
I know several doing the same thing. By the way, I know one who had collected unemployment and after having gone through the whole system of emergency benefit tiers he's now trying to get disability but has been declined twice already. My thought was that it's clear he was able to work when collecting unemployment (for the reason you mentioned) - it's a specific question you must answer each week you claim unemployment benefits: Were you able to work fulltime during the week being claimed?
Obviously he answered yes all those weeks and months.
Question: Do you think this may be why he's having trouble getting on disability now?
And how do you prove you qualify?
It's easy. Just go to the doctor with back pain. Because of the trial lawyers, the doctor won't argue with you. Back problems are hard to diagnose, and therefore can't be ruled out.
We have welfare slugs down the road who switched to disability after Bush passed welfare to work. They claimed a bad back. All summer you'll see then pulling heavy engines out of old cars.
There's one welfare queen who is on disability because she's "too nervous to work", yet she runs a cash only day care service for people in her trailer park.
When unemployment benefits run out jobless claims fall,well duh.
Or it could be that the labor participation rate has fallen too.
The thing about counting unemployment in this country that is so deceptive is this -— THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN UP LOOKING ( i.e., those who are NOT actively looking for a job ) are NOT COUNTED in the unemployment rate that they announce.
here is a sign that things are picking up — FALLING UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WITH INCREASING LABOR PARTICIPATION RATES.
We don’t have that now unfortunately.
Indeed
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
Working age Americans up by around 200,000, while the participation dropped by about 150,000.
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