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Do IT this week: Layering
By Christopher S. Rugaber
Associated Press
POSTED: 09:44 a.m. EST, Nov 05, 2009
WASHINGTON: The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in 10 months, evidence that job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals.
Still, companies are reluctant to hire and economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October's figure is reported Friday. The jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.
The Labor Department said today that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. That's better than economists' estimates of 523,000.
Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of employers' willingness to hire new workers.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 523,750, its ninth straight decline. That's 135,000 below the peak for the recession, reached in early April.
Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the roughly 400,000 that economists say will signal job creation.
The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the July-September quarter, the government said last week, ending a record four straight quarters of decline and providing the strongest signal yet that the recession is over.
But economists worry that growth will slow early next year as various government stimulus programs wind down. That uncertainty has made many employers reluctant to hire.
In addition, many companies are squeezing more production from their existing work forces. Productivity, the amount of output per hour worked, jumped 9.5 percent in the third quarter, the Labor Department said in a separate report. That's the sharpest increase in six years, and it enables companies to produce more without hiring extra workers.
Economists expect the nation lost a net total of 175,000 jobs last month, adding to the 7.2 million lost since the recession began in December 2007.
The number of people claiming jobless benefits for more than a week fell by 68,000 to 5.75 million, above analysts' estimates but the eighth drop in nine weeks. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by one week.
Another 4.1 million people claimed extended unemployment benefits in the week ended Oct. 17, the latest data available, an increase of about 100,000 from the previous week. Congress has added 53 weeks of emergency aid on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.
Legislation to extend benefits by another 14 to 20 weeks was approved earlier this week by the Senate.
Many analysts expect the unemployment rate could rise as high as 10.5 percent before the recovery gains enough steam to start pushing it down next summer. The concern is that the recovery and consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, could falter if households remain squeezed by layoffs, stagnant wages and depleted savings.
The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep interest rates low for an ''extended period,'' which central bank policymakers can do because wage and general inflation pressures have vanished during the steep downturn.
Still, some companies are still announcing job cuts. Microsoft said Wednesday that it will eliminate 800 jobs on top of 5,000 layoffs that it announced in January. And Johnson & Johnson said it could cut up to 8,300 jobs as part of a restructuring.
Among the states, California reported the largest increase in claims, with 14,394, which it attributed to layoffs in the construction, services, manufacturing and agriculture industries. North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia and New York had the next largest increases. The state data lag initial claims by a week.
Indiana had the largest drop in claims, with 2,346, followed by Puerto Rico, Iowa, Nevada and Florida.
WASHINGTON: The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in 10 months, evidence that job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals.
Still, companies are reluctant to hire and economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October's figure is reported Friday. The jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.
The Labor Department said today that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. That's better than economists' estimates of 523,000.
Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of employers' willingness to hire new workers.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 523,750, its ninth straight decline. That's 135,000 below the peak for the recession, reached in early April.
Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the roughly 400,000 that economists say will signal job creation.
The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the July-September quarter, the government said last week, ending a record four straight quarters of decline and providing the strongest signal yet that the recession is over.
But economists worry that growth will slow early next year as various government stimulus programs wind down. That uncertainty has made many employers reluctant to hire.
In addition, many companies are squeezing more production from their existing work forces. Productivity, the amount of output per hour worked, jumped 9.5 percent in the third quarter, the Labor Department said in a separate report. That's the sharpest increase in six years, and it enables companies to produce more without hiring extra workers.
Economists expect the nation lost a net total of 175,000 jobs last month, adding to the 7.2 million lost since the recession began in December 2007.
The number of people claiming jobless benefits for more than a week fell by 68,000 to 5.75 million, above analysts' estimates but the eighth drop in nine weeks. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by one week.
Another 4.1 million people claimed extended unemployment benefits in the week ended Oct. 17, the latest data available, an increase of about 100,000 from the previous week. Congress has added 53 weeks of emergency aid on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.
Legislation to extend benefits by another 14 to 20 weeks was approved earlier this week by the Senate.
Many analysts expect the unemployment rate could rise as high as 10.5 percent before the recovery gains enough steam to start pushing it down next summer. The concern is that the recovery and consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, could falter if households remain squeezed by layoffs, stagnant wages and depleted savings.
The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep interest rates low for an ''extended period,'' which central bank policymakers can do because wage and general inflation pressures have vanished during the steep downturn.
Still, some companies are still announcing job cuts. Microsoft said Wednesday that it will eliminate 800 jobs on top of 5,000 layoffs that it announced in January. And Johnson & Johnson said it could cut up to 8,300 jobs as part of a restructuring.
Among the states, California reported the largest increase in claims, with 14,394, which it attributed to layoffs in the construction, services, manufacturing and agriculture industries. North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia and New York had the next largest increases. The state data lag initial claims by a week.
Indiana had the largest drop in claims, with 2,346, followed by Puerto Rico, Iowa, Nevada and Florida.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 09:57 AM, 11/05/2009
OH BOY!!! Only a half million people lost their jobs last week...!!!! A great time to celebrate... NOT!!!!.. We are still bleeding jobs only more slowly as we run out of jobs to "bleed".
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 10:28 AM, 11/05/2009
Bush legacy lives on.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:31 AM, 11/05/2009
@spd3333 Give it a rest... How about I say.. the Obama stimulus .. what stimulus?? and don't hand me "he saved jobs".. at most he has postponed the firings when the stimulus money runs out.. those that were kept up via those funds will be laid off also.. Thus economy is going nowhere fast.
uniontown, oh
Posted 10:38 AM, 11/05/2009
Only the government can say and believe that a half million newly unemployed can/is a good thing.
Only people working for the Obama administration can say it's Bush's fault. Only people in the Obama administration can say "we'll we are under 10%". Only Democrats can campaign for "more jobs, more police, more peace" and loose jobs, lay off safety forces, and send even more troops into what I wouldn't even call a country of Afghanistan. Then turn around and say Bush made me do it? This administration is beyond the Twilight Zone and should all be exported to the planet of ZICON. Idiots.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:42 AM, 11/05/2009
Once all of the jobs are gone, "New Jobless Claims" will drop to ZERO.
At that point, you can finally trust the economic data (aka propoganda) from the Obama Administration.
During this morning's 8AM ABC Radio news it was announced that a Georgia company where Obama claimed to have saved over 900 jobs only had 500 employees.
Of course the story never ran again.
ABC's execs must have received 'the call' from the White House letting them know they would become a News Organization Non Grata (just like Fox) if they kept undermining the Obama administration's attempt to brainwash the country.
North Hill, OH
Posted 12:05 PM, 11/05/2009
It takes more than 12 months to remedy 8 years of idiocracy.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:47 PM, 11/05/2009
@RowdyZ
And it will take generations to remedy what Obama's first 10 months have wrought upon America.
San Diego, CA
Posted 01:24 PM, 11/05/2009
@farwest side, citizen62, Overtaxed Voter: Did any of you read anything from economists about how long a recovery would take and that unemployment would continue to grow for a period of time even with the Economic Stimulus plan? If anything, the stimulus wasn't big enough. A Nobel Prize winning economist said as much. As I recall, the republipukes were dead set against the stimulus and probably kept the stimulus lower than it needed to be. I think the original number was to 850 billion rather than 750. Now they level criticism that the economy hasn't rebounded fast enough. They offer nothing to solve any problem and only level criticism of anything the Obama administration tries to do to remedy the nations problems.
Hate to tell you this guys but this isn't going to get fixed overnight. And Obama did do the right thing by providing a stimulus package. What was the republican solution, more tax cuts for the rich?
burlington, nc
Posted 01:31 PM, 11/05/2009
@ San Diego Joe
Somehow a Nobel Prize doesn't have the same meaning it once had - sorry to have to tell you that
Akron, OH
Posted 01:45 PM, 11/05/2009
@sandiegojoe I have a question for you, how many poor people have hired you? If you give those with money, a tax break and give them an incentive to hire more staff, then guess what.. more people get jobs.. This stimulus will create at best short term jobs that have ZERO future.. eventually, almost ALL the persons hired or kept on the job due to the stimulus will end up unemployed... why?? stimulus=NO economic boom
Look back to KENNEDY'S tax cuts and Reagan's tax cuts and you will see, cutting taxes=increased jobs and believe it or not increased tax revenues. SURPRISE!!!
Realityville, OH
Posted 02:09 PM, 11/05/2009
When Bush was Prez...people were working.
Orrville, Oh
Posted 02:16 PM, 11/05/2009
Representatives; of we, the Government; of this Representative Republic; support; for denying workers, consumers, and taxpayers; wages or independent business profit; enabling; them to pay for everything; they use for life; with money; derived from wages or independent business profit.
And scamming; Fathers disqualified for affirmative action with white skin, Union workers, consumers, taxpayers, and Americas grandchildren’s children; to fund all stimulus packages, property tax abatement, tax incentives, tax credit, tax refunds, tax exemptions. And pay for the more stock dividends (money). Hillarys, Chinese, Foreign and Domestic Investors and Stockholders (money marketers) market quarterly; in the wholesale and retail price; of EVERY product and service Human Beings use for life. And Government needs to build, maintain, and operate schools; infrastructure; and provide government services; and national security. That gets only product or service.
This defiance; of realities demands; demands; Fathers disqualified for affirmative action with white skin, Union workers, consumers, taxpayers, and Americas grandchildren’s children; fund; unemployed workers, casino, lottery, and keno losers, aliens, waitresses that pander for life for $2.00 per hour; volunteers without wages; nonunion parasites willing to work for fewer wages than they can afford life; and righteous; that believe it’s a sin; to engage in free, fair, and affordable commerce; or get an agreement (union contract); With a corporation, business, or nonprofit, tax-exempt, organization, or Church; Agreeing to comply with demands; Of natural law: what Mother Nature, God, or Whatever Power decreed to be the reality of the real world. Paying; with welfare checks, food stamps; housing vouchers; and Medicaid!
With money; derived; from the $7.20 per hour; government mandated labor wage or independent business profit.
Posted 03:44 PM, 11/05/2009
@SanDiegoJoe, I hate to say this, but your right. Obo didn't give tax breaks to the bankers and wall streeters, he just straight out gave them the money. How's his trickle down working out for you?
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 07:58 PM, 11/05/2009
When Bill Clinton was president, people were working and living well because things were also affordable. Bush comes along and all the good jobs went to the pot after 9/11.
