Posted on 11/20/2008 5:47:34 AM PST by NRG1973
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year.
The government said new applications for jobless benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 from a downwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That's much higher than Wall Street economists' expectations of 505,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
That is also the highest level of claims since July 1992, the department said, when the U.S. economy was coming out of a recession.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was even worse: it rose to 506,500, the highest in more than 25 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
On the other hand, its probably the best time in the world for GM to go tyhrough Chapter 11. Any lost production during the bankruptcy process will not have an affect on the auto market because there simply is no auot market. If they make it through Chapter 11, GM would be well positioned to make hay when the economy recovers.
Hope and Change, baby! Hope and Change!
16 year high? This would make President Bush, just as bad as his father... Now it’s both their fault!
Maybe “unexpectedly” to the AP, no surprise to the rest of us.
Today is November 20 and there is good news and bad news in this economic report...Bad news: President Elect Obama becomes President Obama on January 20. Good news: President Bush becomes former President Bush the same day and takes with him the blame for this economic turndown, thus paving the way for a REAL Republican to take the reins of power on January 20, 2012!
how is 10,000 jobs “much higher” when speaking about numbers like 515,000 ?
W’s legacy continues to grow.
Michigan has successfully exported our economy to the rest of the U.S.!
Too bad we cant make a dime from that either.
The Obama Market rolls on.
The Obamanation reacts to BHO’s selection on 11/4/08.
You are so right. The sad part is no matter how many jobs and talented people we throw out the rest of the country continues to flounder.
how is 10,000 jobs “much higher” when speaking about numbers like 515,000 ?You're misreading the article. Economists were expecting 505,000 - the number was 542,000. So it's 37,000 jobs. The 515,000 number was from the previous week.
Would you care to explain to me how Bush is responsible for the housing bubble and the subsequent financial meltdown?
I sure as hell Hope things Change real soon!! My IRA is in the toilet!
And what’s the population now- about 10-15% higher than in 1992?
W is partly responsible for the housing bubble. He did push home ownership while the market was out of control. But there’s more to the financial collapse. There was the government spending, and lack of vetoes. There was the commodities bubble and the weak dollar. There was a lack of support for innovation and investment, and he was too busy shilling for his beloved illegal aliens to be vigilant on the economy.
well... then that explains it. I’m just counting on Detroit layoffs... I bet when Ford and GM are left to rot the economy will roar back because people will begin to have a greater faith in our system.
He is a politician... and although not as bad as many... politicians are, as a group, rat bastards.
More like Corp America making there moves overseas to avoid a radical Socialist President Soros and his Puppet!
Obama — Hope and Change is correct. The hope was that he hope you wouldn’t know that the change he had was to a GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED ECONOMY!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.