October 23, 2016

Unemployment claims at historic low

Reuters - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits held at a 43-year low last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.

It was the 84th consecutive week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with robust labor market conditions.

That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is implicit by its very name, to claim unemployment benefits one must first have been gainfully employed. More, to qualify for said benefits, one must have been gainfully employed for a marked period of time, working for am employer participating/contributing to the unemployment insurance program, and one must have been terminated from that job for one of a narrow spectrum of reasons. Quitting a job because an employer fails to offer an employee less than, say, fifteen hours a week--well short of anything approaching full time, does not allow one to qualify for benefits. In short, unemployment numbers are at historic lows because good jobs paying living wages are also at historic lows while ever increasing numbers of citizens in historic highs slip in-between the bureaucratic cracks as members in the multitude of the uncounted.
This article is really just more campaign propaganda, meant to prop up and bolster the already dubious reputation of the inept and failed policies of the Obama administration.