US Joblessness and Unemployment

Posted on November 24, 2010 by townsend

• Unemployment claims drop sharply to 407K, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), November 24, 2010, Washington Post: “The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level since July 2008, a hopeful sign that improvement in the job market is accelerating. The Labor Department said Wednesday that weekly unemployment claims dropped by 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 407,000 in the week ending Nov. 20. Wall Street analysts expected a much smaller drop. A Labor Department analyst said the claims figures are volatile during the week between the Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving holidays. A key question is whether claims will remain this low in future weeks, or bounce back. Still, applications for jobless aid are steadily moving lower. Claims have fallen in four of the past six weeks…”
• 41 states see job gains in Oct., most in 5 months, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), November 24, 2010, Washington Post: “Businesses and other employers added jobs in 41 states in October, the best showing in five months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The figures indicate the job market is picking up a bit in most parts of the country. Even the nation’s hardest hit states – Nevada and Michigan – showed declines in their unemployment rates. But the gains weren’t enough to broadly reduce unemployment rates. The Labor Department said the jobless rate fell last month in 19 states, remained the same in 17 and rose in 14. Unemployment can rise when jobs are created if more people begin searching for work…”
• As holidays near, Congress remains divided over jobless benefits, By David Lightman, November 24, 2010, Miami Herald: “Voters clearly want lawmakers to ease the nation’s unemployment pain, but a sharply divided Congress is still balking at extending jobless benefits for those out of work a long time. Unless Congress acts by Nov. 30, an estimated 2 million people slated to receive extended benefits will not get them on time, if ever. And Congress is taking this week off for a Thanksgiving recess, reconvening on Nov. 29. If lawmakers don’t extend the benefits, it will be the third time this year that they will have missed a deadline to do so, even though the nation’s unemployment rate, at 9.6 percent, hasn’t budged since May. Earlier this year, after Congress failed to extend benefits before deadlines, jobless workers got retroactive benefits once legislation was passed…”
• Many in area set to lose jobless benefits, By Ben Goad, November 23, 2010, Press-Enterprise: “Congress appears unlikely to act in time to prevent unemployment benefits from expiring next week for millions of jobless Americans, as lawmakers are sharply divided over whether a costly extension of the program is in the nation’s best interest. Coming on the cusp of the holiday season, the current Nov. 30 expiration would hit particularly hard in Inland Southern California. At 14.2 percent, the Inland area’s jobless rate is far above the national average of 9.0 percent. As of last count, 167,275 residents of Riverside and San Bernardino counties were collecting unemployment insurance benefits totaling up to $450 a week. They are among more than 4 million people across the country who would begin to fall off the rolls unless the program is extended…”