Posted on 06/13/2013 7:31:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In a positive sign for the U.S. jobs market, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended June 8th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 334,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 346,000.
The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting initial jobless claims to edge up to 350,000.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell for the second consecutive week, pulling back toward the five-year low of 327,000 set in the week ended April 27th.
The report also showed that the less volatile four-week moving average dipped to 345,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 352,500.
Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said, "Both claims and the four-week average are higher than they were in early April, but the drop is consistent with a gradually falling trend in the rate of layoffs."
Meanwhile, continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, edged up to 2.973 million in the week ended June 1st from the preceding week's revised level of 2.971 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at rttnews.com ...
BTW, the word -- "unexpectedly" is in the title, so the writer has preempted everyone who claims "in" before anyone else :)
At some point, there just aren’t any more workers to be layed off.
There are millions of jobless whose unemployment benefits have run out. Let’s just pretend they don’t exist.
Riiiiiiiiiiight and next week the numbers will “unexpectedly” be adjusted higher!
The previous week was UNREVISED!!!!
That is *truly* unexpected!
No surprise to us. In this state, the unemployed are now the “comfortable poor.” They lounge around the pools of their taxpayer-paid apartments and munch on food also paid for by the working class. One young man we tried to hire to work for us said that he would have to wait until September to start, since he and his wife would be spending the summer in the Bahamas, courtesy of his unemployment and her disability pay. ??????
RE: In this state, the unemployed are now the “comfortable poor.”
And which state in this once great country of ours is that?
No matter what the discussion about averages, historic trends, economic normalcy, etc., last week a third of a million Americans filed for unemployment checks.
And that is supposed to be good news.
Because the week before slightly MORE than a third of a million Americans filed for unemployment checks.
‘Unexpectedly’ is in the title. That was unexpected............
And what’s the over/under on how much it will be adjusted upwards next week?
We all know the initial number is pretty much useless as it stands.
It’s amazing how some reporters seize upon a slight tick down in otherwise dismal numbers as being positive.
Yeh, 7250 people hit their 99 weeks of unemployment and dropped off the rolls. Oh yeh they must have gotten a job. Not.
RE: 7250 people hit their 99 weeks of unemployment and dropped off the rolls
So what next for these 7,250? Do they starve or what?
And which state in this once great country of ours is that?
The state of Melancholia.................
Then, next week or the week after, when the REAL numbers are finally collated, the new applicants for unemployment compensation will “unexpected” rise to even more than the original number submitted.
New hires minus the number of new claims is STILL a negative number, as the actual full-time equivalent jobs continue to decline. People are working at two or more part-time jobs, which is improperly reported as two or more jobs, while there is still only one person actually earning paychecks from multiple sources.
I live in the South, but I would have to agree with the point I think you’re making: Unemployment is not sufficiently uncomfortable anywhere in the US to give those enjoying it motivation to leave poolside (or the Bahamas!) and go to work.
Not to worry, those who have run out of unemployment are safely on ss disability now
Not only that but why work when you can apply for EBT and do nothing for “free”? We’re already considering H1B visas as even the so-called Ivy League grads we interviewed were dumber than your normal HS grad.
“RE: 7250 people hit their 99 weeks of unemployment and dropped off the rolls. So what next for these 7,250? Do they starve or what?”
Disability is the new ticket. Just enjoy and vote Dem every 4 years. No sweat.
So true. The jobless claims at this point probably reflect a fair amount of churning in the economy. It would be interesting to see how long they held jobs before being laid off. Is it long term jobs we are still losing or short term jobs. How do desperate people who reapply for benefits but who aren't eligible get counted?
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