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| Economy |
| Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83 |
| 2009-11-07 |
| The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher. The 10.2 percent jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing. The rising jobless rate could threaten the recovery if it saps consumers' confidence and makes them more cautious about spending as the holiday season approaches. The October unemployment rate -- reflecting nearly 16 million jobless people -- jumped from 9.8 percent in September, the Labor Department said Friday. The job losses occurred across most industries, from manufacturing and construction to retail and financial. Economists say the unemployment rate could surpass 10.5 percent next year because employers are reluctant to hire. President Barack Obama called the new jobs report another illustration of why much more work is needed to spur business creation and consumer spending. Noting legislation he's signing to provide additional unemployment benefits for laid-off workers, Obama said, "I will not rest until all Americans who want work can find work." The government's monthly unemployment report is based on two surveys, one of households, one of companies' payrolls. The household survey showed that about 558,000 more people were unemployed last month than in September, raising the total to 15.7 million. The company survey, however, showed only a third as many job losses -- 190,000. The disparity can be explained by the fact that the company survey doesn't count people who are self-employed and undercounts employees of small businesses. That's why some analysts, like Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, say last month's household survey could be an ominous sign for the economy. One struggling small business, Miller and Smith Inc., a home builder in McLean, Va., has trimmed its work force to about 97 from 350 at the height of the housing market in 2005. The company has been hurt by a slowdown in building and surging health care costs. Miller and Smith faced a 44 percent increase in the cost of health insurance over the past year that it managed to reduce to 23 percent. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 Frank, Mr. Wife took an offer in 1981 instead of going to grad. school because he saw the trend that was your actuality. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-11-07 22:55 |
| #7 I graduated Engineering school in '83. Put out 80+ resumes, and got one (conditional) offer, only because I had job experience as a student engineer/surveyor. People with 4.0 GPA and no experience went 1-2 yrs before finding entry-level jobs. This is NOT the bottom, yet these assholes seem to find every fight except real job creation worth pushing. Ima gettin' the fire in the belly to make mischief |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-07 17:26 |
| #6 The ten per cent is not nearly so important as the width on that graybar on the right of the graph. And it hasn't turned back to white yet. Note that almost all the prior peaks occurred after the recession had ended. This one hasn't ended yey. Last quarter's "growth" was due to cash for cars and the $8K homebuyers subsidy. These will peter out. This Christmas season will be worse than last year's and unemployment will be higher next November than it is now. Especially if the donks pass health care and cap and tax. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-11-07 17:19 |
| #5 Great job, Congress and the Big O. You spent trillions and don't have jack sh*t to show for it. To put things in perspective: |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-11-07 17:09 |
| #4 Gotta love how the Dems are saying 10.2% is actually good news, since this means that those unemployed who want to work are reentering the job search market. Next year when it's 15% they'll no doubt say, "even bettah!!!". |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-11-07 15:13 |
| #3 The way the Labor Department calculates its unemployment rate has changed a bit since the 1930's, to make the rate look lower than it did then. Using the original calculation method, the rate is more like 20%. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-11-07 10:52 |
| #2 Obama said, "I will not rest until all Americans who want work can find work." An obvious case of pandering to his base. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2009-11-07 08:37 |
| #1 According to mine favorite economist, it's just starting. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-11-07 02:14 |