Yes, stripping people of extended unemployment benefits during this recession will ensure that even more people lose their jobs, as people stop spending. Whee!
WASHINGTON – The number of people filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week after three straight declines, another sign that the pace of layoffs has not slowed.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the highest level in a month.
First-time jobless claims have hovered near 450,000 since the beginning of the year after falling steadily in the second half of 2009. That has raised concerns that hiring is lackluster and could slow the recovery.
Still, the four-week average for unemployment claims, which smooths volatility, dipped slightly to 463,500. That’s down by 3,750 from the start of January.
In a separate Labor report, consumer prices fell for the second straight month. The 0.2 decline in the Consumer Price Index was pulled down falling energy prices , most notably a 5.2 percent drop in gasoline prices. Declining energy bills were the main factor pulling down prices.
But core consumer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food, edged up 0.1 percent in May, after being flat in April. Core prices are up only 0.9 percent over the past year , below the Fed’s inflation target.
Additionally, the Commerce Department said Thursday that the broadest measure of U.S. trade rose to the highest point in more than a year. The widening deficit is a sign that the U.S. economy is rebounding and importing more from around the world.
Economists say they will feel more optimistic that the economy is creating jobs once initial jobless claims fall below 425,000 per week.
i talked to diane feinstein’s office yesterday, who in the end voted FOR the amenment extending unemployment but made some pretty stupid comments about “how long do you continue before people just don’t want to go back to work at all?”
I explained that no one on unemployment doesn’t want to go back to work, because unemployment typically doesn’t give you more than 2/3 of your original paycheck, and that’s before paying for COBRA.
the young woman i spoke to told me she herself had been on unemployment last eyar and that the statement was out of context. “Diane,” she told me, “is concerned about the deficit.”
So i patiently expalined that austerity measures in recession DON’T WORK, and remidned her of FDR’s recession when he gave in to the deficit hawks of HIS day.
they honestly don’t get it. I think they’re going to be surprised in November
I agree. They’re totally fucking oblivious.