Jobless Claims Drop UNEXPECTEDLY to 514,000

Fox News ^ | 10/15/09 | Unknown

[Blood of Tyrants]

WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment insurance has fallen to the lowest level since early January, a sign the labor market is slowly improving.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 514,000 from an upwardly revised 524,000 the previous week. The fifth decline in six weeks was below Wall Street economists' forecasts of 525,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, fell for the sixth straight time to 531,500.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a measure of layoffs and the willingness of companies to add jobs.

[Reagan Man]

I don't remember this type of spin from the media when America had high unemployment back in 1982-83, when Reagan was potus. Back then it was all doom and gloom and Reagan's JA sunk into the mid-30%.

Silly me. Back then it was ALL Reagan's fault, not Carter's. Now its ALL Bush's fault. Obama is innocent.

[mikey_hates_everything]

So this is a sign the labor market is improving because Wall Street economists expected 525,000? If these guys are such scary-smart soothsayers, why are we in this mess to begin with?

[Le Chien Rouge]

I think it would be more reflective to report how many are still working full-time.

YES.

1) Many of us ‘paid by the hour’ have gone from 40 hours a week to 32 or less just to stay employed.I know quite a few.

2) Many people are working 2 part time jobs.

3) Many are now working in the ‘underground’ economy whether a home or side jobs w/out reporting income.

[Loud Mime]

Bump

[Thermalseeker]

I don’t. How boring would that be?

If it's your own company it can be a real hoot.

[Night Hides Not]

This metric could aslo point to another situation, employers are running out of people to lay off.

That's unexpectedly good news to those of us hunting for jobs.

[thulldud]

Oh, yes, that started years ago.

Lately, though, the few job listings I have been seeing tend to include a statement that "sponsorship" is not available. This would mean no H1B's, if it means anything.

Those who have played the keyword bingo game and lost are probably aware that it's part of the H1B scam.

[Thermalseeker]

Middle managers just love to rape the IT department in exchange for career movement. They always smell a bigger year end bonus or raise by selling the execs on downsizing IT. Even though about 6 months to a year later, there is major drop in productivity because of all the cuts. By then, they’ve moved on up the corporate food chain and blame it on something else.

We found this scenario to be true with hospital administrators, too. One of the companies I co founded provided field services to hospitals, home care appliance vendors and such on respiratory therapy equipment, i.e., ventilators, apnea monitors, oxygen concentrators, etc. We found that hospital administrators have a habit of playing musical chairs every few years. They tended to go into hospitals and cut staff, maintenance contracts, etc., to make the bottom line look good, thereby making themselves look good. The real effects of the cuts aren't realized usually for three or four years. By this time the administrator has moved on to a new position somewhere else, just about the time the doodoo hits the fan. We saw this scenario play out in at least a dozen hospitals before I sold my share of the company....

[Gorzaloon]

This metric could aslo point to another situation, employers are running out of people to lay off.

Closed businesses do not do layoffs.

[TheThinker]

Foreclosures: 'Worst three months of all time'

That headline will puts a chill up my spine.

[My Favorite Headache]

Correct and other cases are people have run out of their benefits and haven’t found work period.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Foreclosures: 'Worst three months of all time'

As soon as I heard that this morning, I knew they'd manufacture some happy horesh*t to try and cancel it out. Amazingly, the best they could come up with was only a half a million new jobless claims.

We're living in insane, surreal times.

[TheThinker]

Getting worse at a slower rate is not the same as getting better...

Thanks for expressing the truth so elegantly and concisely.

[blam]

"As soon as I heard that this morning, I knew they'd manufacture some happy horesh*t to try and cancel it out"

The big red headline on my local paper this morning: " Dow Hits 10,000!!"

[pburgh01]

In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled Jobless Claims Drop UNEXPECTEDLY to 514,000, George from New England wrote: “Running out of people to layoff” Bingo. 1% of a declining number, month after month, becomes a smaller number naturally by the rules of math. 1,000,000 -1% 10,000 990,000 -1% 9,900 980,100 -1% 9,801 970,299 etc

Excellent analysis, this the same headline the last 6 months and its "New Math" pumped out by Obama syccophants in the MSM. Project some fantasy number and then when it;s lower claim something good. With the impending SM crash that coming probably dropping to 5k, what will Axelrod and Gibbs spin? 2010 elections are going to be a bloodbath for the Democrats as America hopefully swings back to electing grownups and not Willie Wonkas.

[reagan_fanatic]

That is right. Real unemployment is about 17%. There is nothing but skin and bone now at the companies, but they are not hiring becuase of Obama and the demoraps threatening them with fines, punishment, and new taxes.

Exactly. Almost all of the companies I deal with have cut personnel to the point that they're barely able to operate with who they still have. NO ONE is brave enough to hire on new people right now because they're too scared of what's ahead, and because they have little to no faith in Obama's programs bringing about any improvement.

The Obama Administration has completely and totally f**ked up this economy, but good.

[ichabod1]

They still laid off over a half a million people. Is ANYONE getting hired back? Quibbling over 10000 here and there when hundreds of thousands are losing their jobs is ridiculous.

Obama is pissing off the retired and the unemployed. Can he win on that basis?

[ichabod1]

It would be nice to see more than that single statistic as a proxy for the entire employment situation.

[mmichaels1970]

Almost all of the companies I deal with have cut personnel to the point that they're barely able to operate with who they still have.

That's where my company is. I'm a lucky one who only got a pay cut. My consolation was being told that I'd be one who would help "turn off the lights and lock the doors".

[divine_moment_of_facts]

Congress needs to be put on the unemployment roles.. and they will be.