Half a Million, Half a Million, Half a Million, Onward
Will the last person in America who has a job please turn off the coffee pot and the photocopier?
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.
…
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.
I always love that little caveat: the economy’s improving, even if no one’s working. It reminds me of Mark Twain’s aphorism that Richard Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.
BTW, one thing’s always puzzled me—but I think I’ve figured it out. A healthy economy can still shed 325,000 jobs because it’s creating that many and more. The half a million-plus jobs that we’re losing week after week after week after week don’t take into account the jobs created. But even if the net loss is 200k jobs, and not 500k, the figure is still alarming, with no relief in sight.
Buck O'Fama said,
October 22, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
Unemployment has traditionally been a “lagging indicator” because employers wait until they can forsee a steady uptick in demand before committing to hiring new workers. Makes sense… you don’t want to hire a bunch of new people only to have to lay them off again a month later. This time around, the new hiring is being suppressed by a number of factors: the threat of numerous new regulations and taxes out of Bullsh*t City (Washington DC), the seemingly tenuous nature of the recovery (if there indeed IS a recovery), lack of credit (banks are not anxious to lend to consumers and small business.) To sum it up, few if any new jobs are likely being created while layoffs continue. But I’m sure it’s all Bush’s fault.