Mixed Numbers On U.S. Jobless

(AP)  The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits showed an unexpected improvement last week although a key indicator of unemployment hit a four-year high.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits totaled 357,000 last week, some 18,000 fewer than the previous week. That pushed applications for benefits to their lowest level since mid-April.

However, the four-week average for people receiving benefits edged up to 3.086 million, the highest level since March 6, 2004, when the country was still struggling to recover from a prolonged period of rising unemployment.

The increase in so-called continuing claims underscored the problems people are facing with rising layoffs and the difficulty in finding new jobs in a weak economy.

The unemployment report for May will be released on Friday. Analysts are expecting that the overall civilian jobless rate will edge up to 5.1 percent, compared to 5 percent in April, and that businesses will have cut 60,000 jobs, marking the fifth straight month of job losses.

This prolonged stretch of job cuts has many economists believing the country has fallen into a recession.

However, the overall economy as measured by the gross domestic product has managed to remain in positive territory with the GDP growing at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the first three months of the year.

[credibility2]

The government plays with the formulas and the numbers. They''re lying to us just to protect those involved with the stock market. The economy is worse off than the government wants us to believe. They don''t care about the consumer, only businesses, profiteers and investors. It''s not a recession many are in; it''s a depression.

[joan1v]

What happens when our government decides to worry more about people in third world countries and improve their life and lets us turn into a third world country. Vote all of these so called servants of the people out of office. Never vote for one person for more than one term. They are corrupt. As long as they don''t suffer they don''t care.

[maiingan]

The number they''re NOT reporting or considering is long-term unemployed: people who''ve run out of unemployment compensation. Well, who cares? None of the pols or journalists are unemployed!

[s1ckd09]

So, let''s figure this out... Job losses are bad, but people are cheering when GM cuts jobs from their SUV plants? People complain about high gas prices, but refuse to support current energy methods that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Maybe I should become a democrat, so that all I have to do is blame a republicans... Didn''t Nancy Pelosi run on a campaign that promised that the Democrats had in place a way to reduce gas prices? And yet they are the ones complaining, and they have never revealed their so-called plan? Sign me up.... I want to be a Democrat! Blame Republicans! Blame Bush! Blame Canada!!!

[darnedsocks]

SO WHERE DO THEY KEEP THE "UNDER-EMPLOYMENT" REPORT FOR ALL THOSE WHO LOST THEIR PROGRAMMING OR CUSTOMER SERVICE JOBS TO PEOPLE IN INDIA AND NOW ARE STRUGGLING ON 1/4 SALARY AS A GREETER AT WALMART?