New Jobless Claims Reach 26-Year High

[Wretched Excess]

New claims for unemployment benefits reached their highest level in 26 years last week, as companies cut workers at a rapid pace.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.

It is also the highest reading since November 1982, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

The jump is partly due to a rebound in claims from the previous week, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, a Labor Department analyst said. Government offices were open for fewer days that week.

Still, the four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, was a seasonally-adjusted 540,500, the highest since December 1982, when the economy was emerging from a steep recession.

Link

[Wretched Excess]

I posted the dow jones stock ticker with this thread because I expected the market to tank on the opening bell on the unemployment news . . . once again, my choice to not become a stock broker is proven to be an intelligent move.

[Chris_]

My sister got laid off about 2 weeks ago.  She was unemployed for almost 2 hours.   

[rich_t]

The longest I have ever been unemployed was about 5 months...  By choice.  This was just after I got out of the Army.

[RobJohnson]

This is going to be tough on alot of Americans.

[Chris_]

This is going to be tough on alot of Americans.

Well, the ones who can't actually do stuff that provide value.

[Eupher]

Well, Mrs. E has been unemployed for about two months now, despite looking long and hard.

She has a master's in music education. And she has experience in recruiting/headhunting, nonprofits, and a fair amount of clerical. She's an exceptional writer and editor.

Alas, unless you're a pig farmer, cattle rancher, or fast food worker, there's not a lot available in our area at the moment. Say what you want about the economic downturn -- it's real in north-central Missouri.

OTOH, she does have a potential opportunity teaching GED subjects at the local state prison. That isn't a bad gig, since it's a state job.

Gotta love our state and federal gummints. Once you're in, they can't get rid of you with napalm.

[Lord Undies]

It gets ugly for sure...then it becomes reality. 

If business can do without these folks, why were they hired in the first place? 

[Chris_]

In the lead up to the 2000 election, anytime Bush or Cheney mentioned the softening economy, they were accused loudly, of "Talking Down the Economy" somehow, when democrats do it, it isn't problematic...