soc.veterans

"Sid9" wrote in alt.politics.bush:

> April 3, 2008
>
> Jobless Claims Shoot Up to 2 - Year High


When are the GDP numbers coming out for the 1st Q?

We have to learn if we are to the halfway point in an official recession.



>
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> Filed at 11:16 a.m. ET
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of new people signing up for
> unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest level in more
> than two years, fresh evidence of the damage to a national economy
> clobbered by housing, credit and financial crises.
>
> The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for
> unemployment insurance jumped by a seasonally adjusted 38,000 to
> 407,000 for the week ending March 29. The increase left claims at
> their highest point since Sept. 17, 2005, following the blows of the
> devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.
>
> ''This report supports the view that the jobs market is deteriorating
> toward recessionary conditions,'' said T.J. Marta, a fixed-income
> strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
>
> The latest snapshot of labor activity was worse than economists had
> anticipated. They had predicted claims would be much lower, around
> 365,000.
>
> A government analyst said some of the big increase in claims may have
> been related to an early Easter holiday this year, where claims that
> weren't filed or processed during the holiday week were pushed forward
> into the following week.
>
> Still, looking at the longer-term trend there was little doubt of the
> pickup in unemployment filings. A year ago, new claims stood at
> 319,000.
>
> Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to collect unemployment
> benefits rose by a sharp 97,000 to 2.94 million for the week ending
> March 22, the most recent period for which that information is
> available. That was the highest since July 17, 2004.
>
> The economy is suffering from a trio of mighty blows -- a housing
> collapse, a credit crunch and a financial system in turmoil. That's
> causing people and businesses to hunker down, crimping spending,
> capital investment and hiring. Those things in turn further weaken the
> economy, in a vicious cycle.
>
> For the first time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged
> on Wednesday said the country could be heading toward a recession.
> Many other economists and the public believe it's already there.
>
> Employers cuts jobs in January and February, and economists are
> predicting more losses when the government releases the March
> employment report on Friday.
>
> The nation's unemployment rate, now at 4.8 percent, is expected to
> rise to 5 percent in March. The jobless rate could climb to 5.5
> percent or higher by the end of this year, according to some analysts'
> projections.
>
> To bolster the economy the Fed has been cutting a key interest rate to
> induce people and companies to boost their spending. Many analysts
> still predict another reduction to that rate when the central bank
> meets later this month, although Bernanke didn't tip his hand about
> the Fed's next rate move.
>
>
>
>
>



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