Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

342,000 people filed first time unemployment claims last WEEK

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread		 This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU
 
underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:20 AM
Original message
342,000 people filed first time unemployment claims last WEEK


The number of Americans lining up to claim first-time unemployment aid edged lower last week, largely in line with expectations, a government report showed on January 29, 2004. A separate report showed employment costs in the final quarter of 2003 rose by the smallest amount in a year and by slightly less than expected. (Reuters Graphic)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=1&u=/nm/20040129/bs_nm/economy_dc

Claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell 1,000 to 342,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, down from a revised 343,000 the previous week, the Labor Department (news - web sites) said. Analysts were expecting claims of 340,000 after the originally reported 341,000 in the Jan. 17 week.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
lovedems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
1. Are we suppose to somehow feel better that ONLY 342,000 lost their
jobs? That sounds like an extraordinary number to me. That is depressing. As the wife of husband who collects unemployment, I feel for those 342,000 people who have to stand in line with their dignity reduced to pieces of paper and stupid ass forms to fill out every week while they look for a job that isn't there.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:28 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. That number is staggering to me
I know that 300,000 is the bench mark by which economists measure good and bad weeks but that is a whole helluva lot of people. Wow.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Frodo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:38 AM
Response to Reply #2
6. It's actually 400,000 and 350,000
Anything under 400,000 is thought to be "good" and any long-term stability under 350,000 is thought to signal sustainable job growth.


But, yes, it's a lot of people. When you talk about a nation of over a quarter Billion people, even small changes in percentages translate to massive numbers of people.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:45 AM
Response to Reply #6
15. Right-- thanks
I knew the 300K number was wrong :spank:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
3. Terrible-that's almost 1 million jobs in 3 weeks.
Not to mention the people whose unemployment has run out-those numbers are staggering.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lovedems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. So what is the total job loss now. I keep hearing 3 million have lost
their jobs since the chimp took office but I hear of more layoffs (Kraft, Kodak, Wilson Leather, SBC) and then only 1,000 jobs created in December.

The number of job losses would have to be higher than 3 million if, as you pointed out, almost a million in the past 3 weeks.

And all the dumb ass wants to do is go to the moon, make his tax cuts permanent and give millions to the NEA (which I am entirely for if we had the money to do it!)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Frodo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:40 AM
Response to Reply #5
10. What's missing from your equation...
... is how many people STARTED a new job last week? That doesn't get reported. This isn't a NET loss of 350,000 jobs. Even in the BEST of economies (and everyone here should remember one just a few years ago???) you'll see 270,000 to 300,000 people filing a enw claim every week. It's jsust that 325,000 to 400,000 were getting new jobs in that same week.

Nowadays it seems like we're floating at the "break even" point. Roughly the same number of new hirings as new firings.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lovedems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:49 AM
Response to Reply #10
16. Right, I understand your point but what kinds of jobs are people starting
in that week? I am hearing all kinds of stories about people taking a grave yard shift at wal-mart, or taking a cut in pay or taking a job without benefits. For instance, 400,000 people very likely could have found jobs last week, but I would guess 200,000 took a job out of necessity and not because it was a "good job". That should account for something in this so called recovery.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:55 AM
Response to Reply #16
18. Lots of Service Jobs are being created
while whito collar jobs are being exported.

Numbers tell one story but can be massaged to benefit the administration. Reality is a nother matter. If you ask someone if they know people that have been laid off or unemployed for some time, the answer will be "yes". The exception where I live is in the building trades-many people have refinanced on their homes due to the low mortgage rates and have put that money into home improvements.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Frodo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 12:02 PM
Response to Reply #16
19. Hard to tell, but it's been the assumption for a decade now.
They used to joke about all the jobs Clinton created ("I know... I've got THREE of them").

We've been looking at a 15-20 year decline in the "quality" of some jobs (a new emphasis on part-time over full-time) and a reduction in benefits.



There isn't much of a way to confirm those suppositions though. If overall payroll is still going up it's hard to claim that EVERYONE is losing good-paying jobs and going to work flipping burgers.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 12:24 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. Payrolls could reflect higher compensation for C-and VP-Level Employees
I'm in sales and compensation packages have fallen off-I was offered more money in 1994 than most companies offer now.

The same goes for a lot of technical positions-they are making far less money now. Meanwhile, executive compensation is through the roof. That may have something to do with overall payroll rising.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Gulf Coast J Donating Member (221 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:41 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. 1,000 net jobs
According to the establishment survey done by BLS, job creation exceeded job destruction by 1,000 last month. Job creation doesn't get the same press as mass layoffs, but for only 1,000 jobs to have been created during a recovery is terrible.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
4. 200,000 exhausted their benefits too.
I love this recovery. Hoo boy!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #4
7. They'll show up as 200,000 that have now found jobs
Edited on Thu Jan-29-04 11:39 AM by OneTwentyoFive
And Whore TV will scream from the rafters that Bush's economic plans are sound--200,000 jobs created just last week!!!!

David
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lovedems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:43 AM
Response to Reply #7
13. That is what my husband keeps saying...how many people have lost
their unemployment benefits before finding a job and have just dropped from the radar? He is convinced the number of actual unemployed people is far greater than what we are being told because there isn't any way to accurately track those who don't have unemployment benefits anymore and still don't have a job.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. Actually, according to another thread, it's 2 MILLION....
January-June, 2 million people are expected to exhaust their benefits.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:52 AM
Response to Reply #13
17. I Know People That Haven't Worker in Two Years
and a friend from an old job moved to Atlanta for a new IT position (there are very few here in Boston these days) and was laid off six months later.

I love this recovery-what job security!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Bush_Eats_Beef Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
8. Must be the "Bush tax cuts stimulatin' the economy"...how exciting
This will be another one of those "proof that the President's tax cuts are working, this is good news but we won't be happy until every American who wants a job has one" BS spins on Cable news. I smell it coming.

Bush is in New Hampshire today, supposedly to "discuss how to stimulate the economy, one of his TOP PRIORITIES" (MSNBC sound bite from a few minutes ago)...

So if he's going to cut the deficit in half in five years, just think how good the "new jobless claims" will look next month. Is this man unstoppable or what?

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
On the Road Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
9. This is the Same Economy
that last month generated 1 THOUSAND new jobs for an entire month?

Jobs lost:jobs gained = 1000:1

Quite a ratio.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-29-04 11:41 AM
Response to Reply #9
11. Its the same Bush that promised 1 million new jobs by 2004....eom
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sun May 05th 2024, 08:35 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC