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Updated: 6:53 AM Nov 5, 2009
New Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Since January
The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits falls to the lowest level in 10 months. Posted: 6:53 AM Nov 5, 2009Reporter: AP |
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3 Comments 
The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits falls to the lowest level in 10 months, evidence that job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals.
Still, companies are reluctant to hire and economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October's figure is reported Friday.
The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. Economists had expected 523,000 new claims.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 523,750, its ninth straight decline.
The number of people claiming benefits for more than a week fell by 68,000 to 5.75 million, above analysts' estimates but its eighth fall in nine weeks.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Latest Comments
People are looking for ways to have money especially with the unemployment being up. A company undergoing a layoff is never fun for employees. (However, management still gets ivory back scratchers – now who should be getting laid off, the people who can't steer the ship, or the ones scrubbing the deck?) That said, a layoff of employees doesn't guarantee that a company will return to profits afterward. Right now, the Small Business Administration offers American Recovery Capital loans, for companies that were doing well before the recession, and companies can use a furlough, if done legally. Though it isn't easy to contemplate a layoff, it won't guarantee debt relief, or that an already sinking ship will float again.
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We're saved .... We're saved! Why do people even bother with such misleading information. Are elected officials and bean-counters for the State really not see how flawed this information is. How come News Agencies report this as fact when anyone with sense can see it as inaccurate reporting. There is clear intent to mislead the American people with misinformation like this. Why? The great news is that only 512,000 new applicants for Unemployment benefits thought! I don't see how this is going to be turned around any time soon. What options do we have? It feels to me like we are on a slowly sinking ship... with no plan for escape or recovery.
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The fact that new claims fell isn't an indication of anything but that companies have already fired everyone they could possibly fire and still remain viable business entities. For that matter, the number of people receiving unemployment is not an accurate indicator of the actual number of people without jobs -- because neither of those measurements count people who have been unable to find work for so long that they've run out of benefits. And it also doesn't track people who were so desperate for any work at all that they took part time minimum wage jobs with no benefits and paychecks that don't even come close to being enough to pay rent on a cheap studio apartment much less a mortgage.
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