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01 Dec 2010 10:08

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Politics: Arguments for and against extending unemployment again

  • for According to Judy Conti of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group, two million people will prematurely lose their unemployment benefits, causing a “ripple effect.”
  • against Matt Mitchell, a senior research fellow at George Mason University, suggests that “Unemployment benefits probably actually increase unemployment,” allowing people to stay unemployed longer. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Nov 2010 12:08

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World: Portugal smacked by debt crisis, high unemployment, brain drain

  • I will get out as soon as I graduate next year, to Brazil. It has a growing economy and people like me can do well there.
  • Portuguese college student Alexandria Silva • Explaining her long-term plan for surviving in this economy. That’s right. She plans to leave Portugal, which is about to get smacked with some debt crisis drama, to go to South America. There are some other issues, too – due to insane job-security (especially in the public sector), older Portuguese people already have a stranglehold on the good jobs, and worse, there’s an 11 percent unemployment rate. So, now, some of the country’s best and brightest are leaving. Sad, really. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2010 09:24

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U.S.: Woman who dissed Obama’s economic record now unemployed

  • I don’t take lightly the fact that I know friends who’ve been looking for jobs for two years. Could it take me two years to find a job? Wow, that’s a scary proposition for me and my family.
  • Unemployed worker Velma Hart • On losing her job. Hart’s situation is painfully ironic, as she gained notoriety a few months ago after Hart, an Obama supporter, grilled the president a few months ago for his record on the economy. In that town hall, Hart said this: “I’m one of your middle-class Americans. And, quite frankly, I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I’m one of those people. And I’m waiting, sir. I’m waiting.” And now she’ll be waiting while unemployed, sadly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2010 09:12

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Biz: U.S. economy growing, but not fast enough to spur job growth

  • 2.5% the amount the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter (that’s pretty good, actually)
  • 1.7% the amount the economy grew in the prior quarter (we improved; that’s even better!)
  • 3.5% the rate of growth that’s economists say we need to cut the unemployment rate (that’s bad) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 09:56

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Biz: Unemployment stays put despite genuinely solid job growth

  • 151,000 the increase in hiring in October – mostly on the back of private sector jobs, which is really good
  • 9.6% the current unemployment rate, which didn’t improve even though jobs numbers were strong source
  • » Far better than predicted: Economists were expecting a hiring increase of around 60,000 in October, which was more than doubled. So hey, that’s a positive!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Oct 2010 10:27

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Biz: Unemployment numbers: Same level of suckiness as last month

  • 95k number of jobs lost in September, mostly government jobs
  • 64k number of jobs gained in the private sector, which is good but modest
  • 9.6% the current jobless rate, which remains steady this month source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2010 09:52

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Biz: Jobs grew, but the unemployment rate still rose

  • 9.6% the latest unemployment rate, which is an uptick source
  • Why the increase? Interesting reasons, actually; apparently, private-sector jobs actually increased. Unfortunately, government jobs continued to disappear.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

26 Aug 2010 10:18

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Biz: New jobless claims not as awful as last week, still pretty awful

  • -31,000 the decrease in new jobless claims this week, which is minor, but positive, economic news
  • +3,250 the increase in jobless claims over a four-week period, which means we’re at a nine-month high source
  • » Protip on jobless claims numbers: They’re volatile and change from week to week, meaning the number that really matters is the more stable monthly figure.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2010 09:36

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Biz: New jobless claims back up above the magical 500,000 mark

  • 500,000number of jobless claims last week, the highest level since November
  • 12,000the increase in claims from the previous week source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Aug 2010 10:55

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Biz: Fed Reserve: Ben Bernanke says what everyone knows already

“We have a considerable way to go to achieve full recovery in our economy.” Really? What gave you that idea? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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