Unemployment rose again last week
Unemployment is continuing to show little sign of improvement, according to the latest government figures.
On Thursday, the Labor Department announced that first-time unemployment claims had reached 640,000, up 27,000 from the previous week's figure of 613,000 claims. Initial claims rose the most in Florida, Pennsylvania and California, with the largest declines coming in Michigan, North Carolina and Missouri.
The unemployment rate has undermined many workers in areas like personal finance and retirement planning, while also contributing to an elevated loan default rate.
Weeks of gains in the stock market have helped fuel the perception that the recession has finally bottomed out and an economic recovery could be imminent. This has been fueled by positive earnings news from a handful of companies in recent days.
Still, other parts of the economy such as the foreclosure rate, the loan default rate and retail sales indicate that consumers are not out of the woods yet. Economists have also warned that unemployment is unlikely to rebound until late next year even once the recession does start to show more signs of ending.
By Bill LaformeADNFCR-1724-ID-19135999-ADNFCR
On Thursday, the Labor Department announced that first-time unemployment claims had reached 640,000, up 27,000 from the previous week's figure of 613,000 claims. Initial claims rose the most in Florida, Pennsylvania and California, with the largest declines coming in Michigan, North Carolina and Missouri.
The unemployment rate has undermined many workers in areas like personal finance and retirement planning, while also contributing to an elevated loan default rate.
Weeks of gains in the stock market have helped fuel the perception that the recession has finally bottomed out and an economic recovery could be imminent. This has been fueled by positive earnings news from a handful of companies in recent days.
Still, other parts of the economy such as the foreclosure rate, the loan default rate and retail sales indicate that consumers are not out of the woods yet. Economists have also warned that unemployment is unlikely to rebound until late next year even once the recession does start to show more signs of ending.
By Bill LaformeADNFCR-1724-ID-19135999-ADNFCR
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