Here we go again, another week and another, um, “unexpected” rise in initial jobless claims:
The number of new claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week as heavy snows caused layoffs to rise.
In addition, many state agencies in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions that process the claims were closed due to the storms and are now clearing out backlogs, a Labor Department analyst said.
The department said Thursday that first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 496,000. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a drop to 455,000.
Bad weather can cause job losses in construction and other industries sensitive to weather.
I’m sorry but I have to ask… Unexpectedly by whom???
JWF sums things up nicely:
It’s comical how every story about job losses always calls it unexpected, with pointy-headed experts baffled by the news. Maybe someone can ask Professor Obama about this grim news today during his six-hour lecture to Republicans.
Um, yeah, I’d pay money to see that!
Anyway, it’s not the weather that’s driving these new jobless claims it’s the slumping consumer confidence and home prices coupled with the Millions of Americans who are underwater on their mortgages… roughly 300,000 of them are facing foreclosure each month. Americans simply don’t have the discretionary capital to invest or consume they they used to. Bottom line we’re not going to see anything resembling a meaningful recovery until that changes.
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