Weekly Jobless Claims Rise to 424,000
- Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:07am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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WASHINGTON (AP) — More people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the first increase in three weeks and evidence that the job market is still sluggish.
The number of people seeking benefits rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 424,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. No states cited extreme weather as a factor in the increase, a department spokesman said. Tornadoes and floods have devastated several states in the Midwest and South in the past month.
Applications are above the 375,000 level that is consistent with sustainable job growth. Applications peaked at 659,000 during the recession.
Still, the four week average, a less volatile measure, declined for the first time in seven weeks to 438,500.
Employers stepped up hiring this spring, but some economists worry that rising applications indicate hiring is slowing.
A separate report showed that the economy grew 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter, a slowdown from the 3.1 percent annual pace recorded in the October-December period. Consumer spending grew at a much slower pace, as shoppers were held back by high unemployment and $4 a gallon gas.
So far, the economy has been generating jobs at a healthy pace this year. Businesses have added a net total of more than 250,000 jobs per month, on average, in the past three months, the fastest hiring spree in five years. The unemployment rate has dropped nearly a full percentage point in the past five months, though it remains a very high 9 percent.
The total number of people receiving benefits is also falling. The unemployment benefit rolls declined 46,000 to 3.7 million in the week ending May 14. That figure lags the applications data by one week.
Roughly 4 million additional people are receiving benefits under emergency programs enacted during the recession. All told, 7.7 million people received unemployment benefits during the week ending May 7, the most recent data available. That’s a drop of almost 200,000 from the previous week.
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Comments (81)
TopOfTheMuffin2u
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:06amTo quote our “Great Leader” “We’re moving in the right direction”.
Report Post »rightwingheroes
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:01amShovel Ready? What there’s no jobs? No way! King Obama promised!
Report Post »attleboro
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:07amWhat’s your plan for creating jobs?
Report Post »prepper1776
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 12:49pm@attleboro i dont claim to have the answers but it would seem that with 70% of the economy is consumer spending , getting money into consumers pockets would be a big help. how about a income tax holiday for starters ?
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:59am@Attleboro
Well, we could put a lot of people to work building ferry boats so we could ship all the no good communist wanna-be’s to Cuba for starters.
That in itself would create a lot more job openings. Or wait, on second thought, that might just get rid of a bunch of freeloaders. Oh well, either way it’s a good thing.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:59amTake it from me, the unemployment numbers are artificially low.
Report Post »hi
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:55amIf you pay people not to work, they won’t.
Report Post »PSALMS23
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:15amExactly !!!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:27amA lot of them will do it for free, we should let them.
Report Post »caprica
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:51amvote hussein out in 2012……or we all going to live like Kanyans .or Afircans …in poverty – this man is incompetent – marixst trash .
Report Post »40 Ford Ragtop
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:50amI remember the 2008 campaign slogan…..
Report Post »America is the greatest nation in the world…and I need your vote to change it…
longun45
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:47amSince the numbers are way low, the actual unemployment is about double that, the recession never ended and with the double dip that is coming, government better get out of the way or they will be sooo gooone.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:41amThe Labor Department must be full of racists. Everyone knows Obama saved us from going off the cliff and that everything is getting better, right? cricket…cricket…cricket
Report Post »reconmarine
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:32amAs always, the seasonal summer and Christmas time hirings cannot be considered as part of an overall economic recovery. When will Obama ever learn?
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:30amIts the economy,stupid.
Report Post »ginger100
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:14amI’m working the oil patch right now, just not in America
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:11amJust read in our paper that Oklahoma unemployment dropped to 5.6%. Here in our small town houses are being built and everything is booming. Rumer is we are gettinh a Hobby Lobby,Denny’s and another movie theator.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:03amYou know, we all know the country is in dire straits and Obama is leading the descent, but everytime some bad news come out and you folks start yelling “hope and change”, it doesn’t help anything. It just makes you look like you don’t have anything intelligent to say.
I’m frankly tired of hearing that lame motto, from the left, and from you clowns on the right.
Report Post »lynnissmart
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:15amSinista – from your previous posts I know that you are upset about the goings on in Texas……and I am wondering if there is anyone in Congress that will stand up and take a stand for you….and likeminded people….but sadly too many are busy bashing each other instead of listening to the We the People………
Report Post »attleboro
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:05amWell said.
Report Post »Swamp B Gummer
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:37amWe need to get rid of the EPA and remove most of the regulations and layers of red tape. Our companies have to jump through too many hoops so we end up buying everything from the Chi-coms and put ourselves out of business. Gov’t regulation in your face -
Report Post »Tomfang
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:36amWhy do we even look at these figures anymore? Everyone KNOWS that they are bull….biscuits.
Report Post »I was self employed and am now unemployed, so I don’t even show up on their radar. Neither do 80% of my friends in the building trade who are now unemployed.
inthedesert
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:52amMy husband is/was a self employed flooring installer. He is in the same boat. But we were making it on my income, barely. I was laid off last week, so I will be counted in next weeks numbers. I worked in an accounting office. We lost so many business clients that there was not enough work for me. They are all going out of business, since the economy is so great! I could see the handwriting on the wall, one gone here, one gone there. I could see after tax season, it was only a matter of time.
Report Post »ADNIL
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:23amSame here.
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:33amnoooo say it aint so Joe.. The ecconomy isnt really getting better? who knew? I thought things were finally turning around.. umm NOT I live near Flint MI sadly, things are going down hill so fast I am starting to fear for my safety to live here
Report Post »cntrlfrk
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:29amLeave it to the AP to suggest weather played a part in Obama’s War on Prosperity, even though no states reported such.
.
Report Post »conservativemom99
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:19amObviously, we don’t understand how GOOD this is…I’m sure the media will remind us how well the economy is doing…jobless recovery and all that…
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:16amI took one of those jobs that a 19 year old could not do, was not willing to do…it was below his pay grade. Thank you you young people for not applying. The jobs are out there and I see more elderly people filling those jobs. I guess we will have to continue to help out the helpless. No problemo, I’ll just continue to add to my stash…and if you come to my house asking for a hand out…do not expect anything from me. I already give to a charitable org…I have vid cams all around my parameter. LOL
Report Post »attleboro
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:04amPeople get too picky, it seems.
Report Post »OH, I Get It!
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:14amUnless you pass the money now unemployment will not go above 8%…honest…no, really…it’s a bargain…only $800Billion…that’s $14Billion per state…really…that’s $800Billion divided by 57…ah…err…
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:14amGot Job? Got Freedom? Lost Hope? Hate the change? Thank BHO.
Report Post »Whostolemypig
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:13amAnd still the real unemployment rates are not used. There are thousands of people out there that have used up their unemployment benefit, but no longer count as people I guess. It all boils down to less than 40% of all Americans are working. Of course that includes children, the retired and prisoners. But regardless less than half of us are supporting the whole. Yeah buddy, our economy is growing now.
Report Post »OhSuzieQ
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:18amYou’re so right! ~Just shaking my head
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:21amExactly! Each week, people run out of unemployment benefits. They now have no income, so their situation becomes worse. Ahhh, but this very fact IMPROVES the numbers because they are no longer counted. The rate is far, far worse than is being reported.
Report Post »PSALMS23
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:12amI wish they would stop with the lies, stop twisting things so they sound acceptable. The simple fact is, if there are new unemployment applicants, this means people are still loseing their jobs,and like you say some just can’t draw anymore…sooo Where does this leave us? There are allready so many out of work we can’t afford for this to continue…..Leaves us in a pretty big mess……
Report Post »Eblaze44
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:12amand when the colleges and universities as well as the high school graduates over the next few weeks, expect unemployment to be even higher – won’t be reported though – because those people cannot apply for unemployment – gotta work first for six months or so – then you can file.
Report Post »chickenlittle
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:33amNot necessarily… unemployment insurance was originally implemented as a STATE program, not federal. The rules, regulations, requirements vary wildly from state to state as do the qualifying amounts paid out. Some states even have a provision for paying out compensation if your wages are “reduced.” Regardless, most of the states’ funds have long since run dry (they are paid by the employer) … when states have these “extensions” they get the money by borrowing from the federal government in most cases. Most knowledgeable people today know that the figures used for the national unemployment “rates” are fabrications, manipulation and lies (for many reasons noted by other posters here).
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:12amWho was the DEMOCRAT that said unemployment insurance is a stimulant to the economy? What a BOOST. Time for Stimulus 56.
Report Post »mom4times
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:31amThat was peloozer and what is “stimulus 56”
Report Post »Unix
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 2:04pmyup, none other than Nancy Bellowsi…she is a gem isn’t she?! What a hag, a blowhard and a liar she is, just makes me proud to be an American (sarc)…
Report Post »flsnipe
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:11amHope and Change!
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:21amAnother recovery summer brought to you by Obama.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:26amYep, how’s that working!
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:28amAnd there’s this:
(Reuters) – The United Nations warned on Wednesday of a possible crisis of confidence in, and even a “collapse” of, the U.S. dollar if its value against other currencies continued to decline.
In a mid-year review of the world economy, the U.N. economic division said such a development, stemming from the falling value of foreign dollar holdings, would imperil the global financial system.
The report, an update of the U.N. “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011” report first issued in December, noted that the dollar exchange rate against a basket of other key currencies had reached its lowest level since the 1970s.
This trend, it said, had recently been driven in part by interest rate differentials between the United States and other major economies and growing concern about the sustainability of the U.S. public debt, half of which is held by foreigners.
“As a result, further (expected) losses of the book value of the vast foreign reserve holdings could trigger a crisis of confidence in the reserve currency, which would put the entire global financial system at risk,” it said.
The 17-page report referred at another point to the “still looming risk of a collapse of the United States dollar.”
Rob Vos, a senior U.N. economist involved with the report, said if emerging markets “massively start selling off dollars, then you can have this risk of a slide in the dollar.
“We’re not saying the collapse is imminent, but the factors
Report Post »Cobra Blue
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:28amI love how they blame it on the weather desasters we have had. More BS and smoke and mirrors. Just look around you. Unemployment and underemployment everywhere. Face it! The drive-by media will always be surprised or note there was an “unexpected” increase in jobless claims each and every month when the report comes out. Blah…blah…blah…..Just piling it higher and deeper.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:32amHope and change?
Nope, not working. Any recovery going on is due to Americans making it happen despite the admin claiming otherwise. This jobless numbers fail to take into account the number of government jobs that may have been created as well…where is that data to be found at?
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:32amWe are watching “stupid” at work in Washington. It is time to cut “stupid” by at least 50% in Washington. Obviously, “stupid” has gotten too big. BTW, I don’t include insurance programs that are paid for by the working citizens like social security and Medicare as being stupid. Isn’t it suspicious that these are the only programs that “stupid” talks about cutting.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:33am@Cobra Blue:
And do not forget the scientists of NOAA now claiming that the denials of the right that the storms are NOT caused by global warming are garbage (similiar words to that effect)….go figure, we now have PC in the weather as well.
Report Post »See through it
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:38amletter from China 2005:
Would the United States allow us to go out to gain new living space? First, if
the United States is firm in blocking us, it is hard for us to do anything significant
to Taiwan and some other countries! Second, even if we could snatch some land
from Taiwan, Vietnam, India, or even Japan, how much more living space can we
get? Very trivial! Only countries like the United States, Canada and Australia
have the vast land to serve our need for mass colonization.
Therefore, solving the ‘issue of America’ is the key to solving all other issues.
First, this makes it possible for us to have many people migrate there and even
establish another China under the same leadership of the CCP. America was
originally discovered by the ancestors of the yellow race, but Columbus gave credit
to the White race. We the descendants of the Chinese nation are ENTITLED to the
possession of the land!!! It is historical destiny that China and United States will
come into unavoidable confrontation on a narrow path and fight. In the long run,
the relationship of China and the United States is one of a life-and-death struggle.
Of course, right now it is not the time to openly break up with them yet. Our
reform and opening to the outside world still rely on their capital and technology.
So the U.S is dumbing down, to allow the Chinese to take over?
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:46amThis can’t be right, Obama said that the job markets were getting better and that all his spending was going to fix everything! http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »mikem1969
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:51amOnce again the liberal progressive lies are shown. We are still bleeding more jobs than we are creating, and there is one main reason, THE GOVERNMENT’S ANTI-BUSINESS POLICIES AND REGULATIONS.
Report Post »Creestof
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:53amI still say the best way to solve the unemployment problem is to have employers report the SS# of anyone they offer jobs to along with the weekly pay and number of hours they’d work…and if the person accepted or turned down the job offer.
If the amount of pay was close to what they receive for unemployment benefits and they turned the job down…they LOSE their benefits. If they take the job, then their benefits are suspended for 90 days and able to be restored quickly if they lose the job. After the 90 days though, they lose the benefits. If the person loses their job after the 90 days they have to reapply all over again.
I’ve had enough of hearing people on unemployment say “Nah, I turned the job down. Why should I bust my rear 40 hours a week for the same amount I get for sitting at home watching TV?”
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:53amHow come every week the number is “unexpected?” The so called experts are wrong every week. Doesn’t that automatically make them non-experts? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiuk0tLj-I4
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:35amGuess giving McD’s a health waiver at the same time they hired 60,000 ON ONE DAY – for the first time ever – might have helped last month’s numbers. But, just like cash for clunkers and all the other wacko socialist stimulus ideas, it stole numbers from the future.
These Harvard philosophical, theoretical, intellectuals running this country have NO IDEA how to RUN ANYTHING! They know how to create spreadsheets, poll voters, manipulate numbers, influence (deceive/manipulate) voters, etc. They DO NOT know how to balance a checkbook, make a payroll, live within their means, etc. They have always had the public’s deep pockets to play with.
TIME ARE REALLY TOUGH… REALLY !
STOP THE BLEEDING!!!
You cannot keep demanding more units of blood for our patient (economy) when it is pouring out of the wounds faster than you can replace the IV bags.
WASHINGTON MUST STOP THE BLEEDING!
WE MUST DEMAND THEY STOP SPENDING!
We have to educate the public. Our seniors are still afraid we are taking away their healthcare.
We have not educated them. We have not explained it to them
We need a national campaign that specifically reaches out to our seniors.
We must make it simple, rational, and compelling.
We must explain to them that we are PROTECTING the future for our children.
We need PARTY LEADERSHIP that reaches OUTSIDE the beltway TO THE PEOPLE.
Remember US? THE PEOPLE? WE THE PEOPLE? OF THE PEOPLE? BY THE PEOPLE? FOR THE PEOPLE?
TERM LIMITS. ‘Nuf sed.
Report Post »lylee
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 10:35amCome on guys, we just need to give the Obama socialist policies time to work! This is the change that Obama talked about, from full employment to no employment. Now you will get everybody hoping to get a job. So we have the hope and change promised!
Report Post »old white guy
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:00amhope and change. i guess close to 20 percent unemployment is a serious change from w’s watch.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:01amnothing is ‘working’. not even the people.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:07amUbama needs a bath, he stinks.
@40 Ford Ragtop
>”I remember the 2008 campaign slogan…..
>America is the greatest nation in the world…and I need your vote to change it…”
Ya know? …It’s the greatest, lets change it… LOL the whole campaign was a hypocrisy…
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 11:12amMore ammo for the Republican candidates.
Report Post »adouglass1
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 12:23pmHe can have that hope but can I get the change back?
Report Post »AOL_REFUGEE
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 1:04pmWait a minute! I thought President Smoke-n-Mirrors said things were getting better!
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 1:06pmWhat a glorious summer of recovery this is going to be……
Report Post »Unix
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 1:47pmHow bout – Hoax and Chains! The man-child on training wheels in the White House has NO IDEA what to do about the economy except FLOOD it with entitlements and more executive disorder. We will be lucky to make it to 2012, because the left knows what is about to happen, and I‘m afraid they won’t allow us to get there, before causing much trouble for us all. I have put my money where my mouth is and have a PUT call on the SPY (S&P 500) down to 400 by August…maybe I am wrong, who knows, it is all a gamble at this point – we’ve been in uncharted waters since 2007. There is no politcal backbone to fix anything at this point, so if we don’t and accept the status quo – we are doomed for failure. Rebuilding won’t be much fun either, we have too many enemies arrayed against us, it will be uphill all the way.
God Bless America!
Report Post »Unix
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 2:14pmPer James Madison on a Constitutional Republic:
1. Acknowledge and adore God (this is where our inalienable rights come from)
2. Exercise frugality (live with your means)
3. Restrain the infliction of injury (live by the Rule of Law, protect good guys)
4. Encourage entrepreneurship and free enterprise (don’t over regulate)
5. Protect property, and the earnings of citizens (have a military to protect America, not police the world)
God Bless a FREE America! Free from progressives and liberals…
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