Results tagged “Unemployment” from Economic Alert

Brother, can you spare a dime on Christmas Eve: "First-time applications for state unemployment benefits jumped by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 586,000 in the week ending Dec. 20, the government said, based on reports of actual filings at state offices around the nation. That's the highest since November 1982."

I have to confess, I always wanted to get unemployment benefits just to see what it's like. There has always been a stigma to those on the dole, including that it breeds laziness. But that may not be the case:

"New research from Raj Chetty, a young Berkeley economist, suggests that moral hazard may not be why more generous benefits seem to lead to more unemployment. Chetty realized that unemployment benefits do not merely pay people to stay out of work; they also protect them from having to rush into an unsuitable job. It is nothing to celebrate if unemployed engineers cannot afford to spend three months finding a job for which they are qualified but are forced to work as real estate agents to put food on the table. A longer gap between jobs is sometimes preferable"

America's jobless picture isn't looking good, and local employment agencies are feeling it.

Jeremy Contreras, owner of AJL Staffing Resources LLC in Whittier, said his business is off by about  60 percent.

"There are layoffs everywhere," he said. "Manufacturing companies that ordinarily would be setting up a second shift in February or March aren't doing it."

Contreras said he also has seen a dramatic slowdown in calls for commercial drivers, manufacturing workers and office employees.

"During the last three weeks I know of about five companies that each laid off at least 25 people," he said. "And some of those employees had been there as long as 19 years."

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped by 122,000 to 3.84 million in late October. It was the highest level since late February 1983 when the country was struggling to recover from a long and painful recession.

And and net job losses for October are expected to be about 200,000 when the government releases its jobs report on Friday.

And now for some more good news, courtesy of the Associated Press  ...

DETROIT - With their employers poised to announce billions more in losses and further job cuts on Friday, it's worry time once again at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. factories across North America.

Both companies are spending billions more than they're making amid the worst economic crisis in decades.

From the Associated Press:

Looking for a job?

You may be pounding the pavement longer than you think because numbers released today show that nationwide unemployment hit a five-year high in August, with employers cutting another 84,000 jobs.

That was worse than an anticipated 75,000 jobs cuts, bringing the U.S. unemployment rate to 6.1 percent in August compared with 5.7 percent the previous month.

Lisa Barnhouse, 32, of La Puente knows how tough the current job market is. Barnhouse used to work in the customer service department at an Acura dealership, but that position was axed when the business was sold.

She did manage to snag a seasonal job as a ticketseller at this year's L.A. County Fair, but she's still looking for something more permanent.

"Jobs used to be a dime a dozen ... but now I can't find anything," she said.

Here's more detail:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.
 
The Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the increasing toll the housing, credit and financial crises are taking on the economy.

The report rattled Wall Street again. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 40 points in midday trading. All the major stock indexes tumbled into bear territory Thursday as investors lost hope of a late-year recovery. With the employment situation deteriorating, there's growing worry that consumers will recoil, throwing the economy into a tailspin later this year or early next year.

The jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. And, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper. The economy lost a whopping 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July, according to revised figures. Previously, the government reported job losses at 51,000 in each of those months.

So far this year, job losses totaled 605,000.