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U.S. Unemployment Aid Applications Rise to 336,000
Time ^ | 08-22-2013 | Christopher Rugaber

Posted on 08/22/2013 8:32:27 AM PDT by Red Badger

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week after reaching the lowest level in nearly six years. But the broader trend suggests companies are laying off fewer workers and could step up hiring in the months ahead.

The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for first-time benefits rose 13,000 in the week ending Aug. 17 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000.

The four-week average, which smooths week to week fluctuations, fell to 330,500. That’s the sixth straight decline and the lowest for the average since November 2007. At the depths of the recession in March 2009, applications numbered 670,000.

Applications for unemployment benefits generally reflect layoffs. The four-week average has fallen 5 percent in the past month.

The drop in applications over the past month suggests employers added 200,000 or more jobs in August. That would be an improvement from the 162,000 added in July.

The unemployment rate fell to a 4½-year low of 7.4 percent last month, from 7.6 percent in June. That’s still well above the 5 percent to 6 percent range associated with a normal economy.

The drop in layoffs helps explain why job growth has increased this year to an average of 192,000 net jobs a month, even while overall economic growth has stayed sluggish.

Net job gains show the number of people hired minus those who lose or quit their jobs. And when companies cut fewer jobs, it doesn’t take many new hires to create a high net gain.

The weak economy has made employers hesitant to hire freely. The economy grew at a sluggish 1.4 percent annual rate in the first half of the year, hobbled by tax increases, federal spending cuts and global economic weakness.

(Excerpt) Read more at business.time.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: bhoeconomy; democrats; layoffs; obama; unemployment

1 posted on 08/22/2013 8:32:27 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger
But the broader trend suggests companies are laying off fewer workers and could step up PART TIME hiring in the months ahead.

DOH!

2 posted on 08/22/2013 8:35:20 AM PDT by sr4402
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To: Red Badger

hopeychangey


3 posted on 08/22/2013 8:36:03 AM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company after the election, & laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: sr4402

I’m starting to see ‘Part-Time Help Wanted’ signs at businesses around town............


4 posted on 08/22/2013 8:42:29 AM PDT by Red Badger (Want to be surA ? eeyour own name......Want to have fun? Google your friend's names........)
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To: Red Badger
. . . the broader trend suggests companies are laying off fewer workers and could step up hiring

Or not. But so what? Now about Obama's designer puppy . . .

5 posted on 08/22/2013 8:45:14 AM PDT by madprof98
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To: Red Badger

“Unexpectedly” of course. This is coming in a sine-wave
fashion... on and off the dole.

People who want to work.. are not. And pride until now has kept them from seeking the EBT- food stamp- unemployment aid support pathway.


6 posted on 08/22/2013 9:02:01 AM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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To: Red Badger

“Last week, the government said U.S. retail sales grew at a solid pace in July.”

Really?


7 posted on 08/22/2013 9:08:40 AM PDT by griswold3
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To: Red Badger
I’m starting to see ‘Part-Time Help Wanted’ signs at businesses around town...........

The Obamacare law apparently forces business to insure full time employees.

8 posted on 08/22/2013 9:08:49 AM PDT by OldNavyVet
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To: Red Badger

How can this be when we have the smartest president ever says media?.

/s


9 posted on 08/22/2013 9:14:31 AM PDT by Vaduz
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To: Red Badger

Cheap Imports = unemployment


10 posted on 08/22/2013 9:33:47 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Red Badger
But the broader trend suggests companies are laying off fewer workers and could step up hiring in the months ahead.

More happy-talk speculation from the MSM Bureau of Propaganda.

I imagine pigs could fly, and unicorn flatulence could solve all our energy problems, and Obama could be a Christian and Natural Born Citizen with America's best interests at heart.

But then I return to reality.

11 posted on 08/22/2013 6:02:25 PM PDT by DakotaGator (Weep for the lost Republic! And keep your powder dry!!)
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To: Red Badger

This is a kindergarten-level analysis of the employment situation. Exactly what I would expect from Time.

The good news is that its half as thick as I remember it. Hopefully it will die soon.


12 posted on 08/22/2013 6:13:02 PM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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