Posted on 10/22/2009 6:32:22 AM PDT by frogjerk
The Labor Department said new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 last week, from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters. WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, after falling in five of the past six weeks, as employers remain reluctant to hire even with the economy showing signs of recovery. The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 last week, from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters. Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell slightly to 532,250, the lowest since mid-January and about 125,000 below the peak for the recession, reached this spring. But claims remain well above the 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy. The number of people continuing to claim benefits did drop for the fifth straight week to 5.9 million, from just over 6 million. The figures on continuing claims lag initial claims by a week.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Less bad is the new good. Repeat. Less bad is the new good. Repeat. Less bad is th...
Unanticipated White House spin:
It could have been worse. We are still trying to mop up the mess from the previous administration. Pay no attention to FOX News. The additional payments you must submit to the IRS are not taxes. It is for your own good.
Unexpectedly decreases....
More than expected...
Less than expected...
I gues I got my Unexpected-O’s as usual and as expected
The one good thing to come out of this economic mess is that those who didn’t know, now know how much those who call themselves “experts”, really know. Which just happens to be... SQUAT!
There are a lot of idle hands in the country right about now. But at least McDonald’s had nice earnings.
In a sense that is right. Half a million people lost their jobs last week and filed for unemployment for the first time. However, this is not the total net loss of employment. It is offset partially by companies that are using this large unemployment situation to upgrade their employee pool. Dump the deadwood onto the public dole and hire in the best of the unemployed at a lower wage. That kind of stuff has to be going on.
Think of the whole finance sector of this country (Stock Exchange, Government et.) There are as many people employed in the business of forecasting as there are in the actual business itself. It's a combination of gazing at their navel and solitary sex! Jobs for the Harvard Business School Alumni. That's why everything is 'unexpected.'
Thailand?
Dump the deadwood onto the public dole and hire in the best of the unemployed at a lower wage. That kind of stuff has to be going on.
It’s going on at my company.
Your post is double plus good.
I know it’ll be more next week here in the Puget Sound area. A friend of ours told us last night his son-in-law just got laid off yesterday from the call center at Expedia. The ENTIRE call center, all 176 people. Had no idea it was coming, and they had two hours to clean out their desks.
On the other hand, our business, which is related to the housing industry, is really starting to pick up.
No, not really. The number does not include the number of people who were on unemployment and got jobs. The actual net number of jobs lost is about 125,000 last week or about 500,000 per month.
It is offset partially by companies that are using this large unemployment situation to upgrade their employee pool. Dump the deadwood onto the public dole and hire in the best of the unemployed at a lower wage. That kind of stuff has to be going on.”
I am retired, but I talk to neighbors and others who are working or own their businesses.
I have heard absolutely NOTHING about the kind of fine tuning you are referring to.
Yes but on the bright side, Rhode Island added or SAVED 151 jobs thanks to the stimulus. How's that Hope-n-Change working out?
Thank you!
I guess this is that hopey changey thing everyone has been talking about.
About half the labor force is government. Although a few towns, a bit at the state level, there have been layoffs, nothing like the private sector.
So, the bulk of that 17% is from the private half. Let’s say 15% to be conservative, and again that is everyone employed. Sooooo,...that 15% really is 30% in the private sector, and maybe 5% of the government sector.
Nice, eh?
Maybe one in four, one in five, or one in three in the private sector is out of work, given up....
Naturally neither the Democrats whose voters are mostly the government workers, or welfare, or disabled, or government private contractors, or lawyers( paperwork industry workers union ), no the MSM mentions that this is a private enterprise recession, not public/government worker recession.
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