First-Time Jobless Claims Shoot Up
So, Congress is moving in the direction of a deal on the debt limit, an it appears that we’ll get out of this with fairly minimal pain (until the next need to raise the debt limit, of course). Medicare is saved, the spending cuts might be to things like Ag subsidies, huzzah, huzzah.
But none of that matters if the economy is losing jobs.
New claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly surged last week to their highest level since last summer, according to data giving another sign of the economy’s struggle in creating jobs.
Separately, U.S. productivity slowed in the first quarter as the economic recovery stumbled and labor costs started to rise again.
Initial unemployment claims increased by 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000 in the week ended April 30, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report.
The prior week’s figure was revised to 431,000 from an originally reported 429,000.
While the 535 Neros in Congress fiddle, the labor market is burning. We have needed a second stimulus since last year. We got ineffective tax cuts that mostly just extended current law. And a series of headwinds for the economy, especially rising gas prices, made quick work of whatever stimulus could be squeezed out of those tax benefits, not to mention the $39 billion in spending cuts agreed to by the two parties to close the 2011 budget.
Tomorrow, the job numbers for April get released, and they might be OK, if middling. But the trajectory on jobs is terrible, and 8.8% is simply too high. It’s too high even for deficit reduction, although that pales as a priority compared to giving people jobs and allowing them the basic dignity of work. If someone is working, they can spend the money they earn. The businesses who receive that money and increased demand need to hire more people and products to keep up. It’s a virtuous circle. And we’re stuck with the opposite dynamic right now.
The Administration, Congress and the Federal Reserve can continue to ignore this reality, but that equals ignoring the needless suffering of millions of fellow Americans. The economy is sick, and it needs help. We need to stimulate demand.
First-Time Jobless Claims Shoot Up
So Congress is moving in the direction of a deal on the debt limit, an it appears that we’ll get out of this with fairly minimal pain (until the next need to raise the debt limit, of course). Medicare is saved, the spending cuts might be to things like Ag subsidies, huzzah, huzzah.
But none of that matters if the economy is losing jobs.
New claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly surged last week to their highest level since last summer, according to data giving another sign of the economy’s struggle in creating jobs.
Separately, U.S. productivity slowed in the first quarter as the economic recovery stumbled and labor costs started to rise again.
Initial unemployment claims increased by 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000 in the week ended April 30, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report.
The prior week’s figure was revised to 431,000 from an originally reported 429,000.
While the 535 Neros in Congress fiddle, the labor market is burning. We have needed a second stimulus since last year. We got ineffective tax cuts that mostly just extended current law. And a series of headwinds for the economy, especially rising gas prices, made quick work of whatever stimulus could be squeezed out of those tax benefits, not to mention the $39 billion in spending cuts agreed to by the two parties to close the 2011 budget.
Tomorrow, the job numbers for April get released, and they might be OK, if middling. But the trajectory on jobs is terrible, and 8.8% is simply too high. It’s too high even for deficit reduction, although that pales as a priority compared to giving people jobs and allowing them the basic dignity of work. If someone is working, they can spend the money they earn. The businesses who receive that money and increased demand need to hire more people and products to keep up. It’s a virtuous circle. And we’re stuck with the opposite dynamic right now.
The Administration, Congress and the Federal Reserve can continue to ignore this reality, but that equals ignoring the needless suffering of millions of fellow Americans. The economy is sick, and it needs help. We need to stimulate demand.
