New claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a seven-year high of 493,000! That’s nearly as high as the 517,000 claims following the 9/11 attacks and brings the grand total to 3.54 million people collecting unemployment benefits (another record).
In just the past week (week ending Sept. 20), 32,000 people applied for unemployment benefits. According to the Labor Department, the record high number of claims is due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
The department reported that the two hurricanes added about 50,000 new claims in Louisiana and Texas. Even excluding the effects of the hurricanes, jobless claims remain at elevated levels, topping 400,000 for ten straight weeks.
Analysts expect the job market to get worse as the financial markets continue to bottom out.
Great.
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