It’s been another slow week for the economy, with retail numbers remaining low and the recovery looking sluggish. Stocks are slowly on the rise which is an improvement upon last week. Unemployment remains high with increasing numbers of people weary of the success of the recovery. The economy is at a potentially dangerous place. Most hope that the slow recovery continues, hiring goes up and unemployment comes down. Unfortunately there are many warning signs that this just won’t happen. With retail sales down and the Fed doing everything in it’s power to fight deflation it’s possible we’re teetering on the brink of another collapse. As home prices continue to fall and foreclosures continue many people are reaching the end of their unemployment benefits. Many skilled workers have been forced into unskilled positions and that leaves unskilled workers out in the cold. It’s not always easy to find a job. Even positions that were once looked down upon, like fast food cook or cashier are filling quickly. This leaves few options for people who are already struggling to survive.

The Wall Street Journal examines the effects of unemployment.

Should Obama have predicted no higher than an 8 percent unemployment jump?

How long should unemployment benefits last?

What you need to apply for long term unemployment.

A new senate bill is in the works to extend unemployment benefits.

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Last week’s numbers on job data has come a shock to many. Experts had predicted that jobless number would drop by 2000 and settle somewhere in the 450,000 range. But instead the new data showed that the joblessness has actually risen sharply by over 19,000. This number is actually close to the record number in April when claims rose to 480,000.

Wall street reacted to these numbers with stocks falling sharply. Stock futures also saw a sharp drop. The weak signs of economy recovery are faltering again. There is general sense that all is not really well with the economy.

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This August started with a downer for job seekers when on August 1, a panel of 57 economists, inquired by Bloomberg News, estimated that unemployment has risen from 9.5 percent in June to 9.6 percent in last month.  This is in sharp contrast to the high that was created by President Obama signing the bill for emergency extension of Unemployment Benefit in the last week of July.

It is predicted that the cut in the number of Census workers at the last phase of the population count resulted in the loss of 600,000 payrolls.  According to the Census Bureau, 144,000 workers have already been made redundant with a possibility of 200,000 additional cuts  in the near future as population count winds down, which in turn will further skew the payroll figure for coming months.

Economists predicted before the official government report due on August 6, that this will cause a significant drop in consumer expenditure for the coming months of this year. Last month proved to be a slower one for both manufacturing and service industry, as a result in the beginning of the second part of July the economic recovery deteriorated. According to Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairperson, joblessness is the “the most important” problem that economy is confronting.

The silver lining is, economists are saying that private market, which shows an employment increase of 90,000 in July, will be a much better estimator for unemployment in 2010 and for seven straight months factory payroll registered a steady increase. Also, the service industry is expected to show a steady expansion during month of July, in August 4 report of Institute for Supply Management, though the rate is expected to be a bit slower than that of June.

It is predicted by economists that the current unemployment situation would continue the ongoing trend of consumers saving more and spending less for the rest of this year.

Some related and helpful links:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-01/unemployment-rate-in-u-s-probably-rose-raising-risk-of-slower-spending.html

Geithner: U.S. unemployment could rise
Unemployment Probably Rose

Economic Rebound Slows

When are the Unemployment Checks be Sent Out?

President Obama signed the Emergency Unemployment Benefits Extension Bill, HR 5618, into law  last Thursday after the bill was passed three hours earlier by the U.S House of Representatives on a vote of 272 to 152.  The bill, which would reestablish Tier 3 unemployment for 3 million Americans at an average weekly benefit amount if $306, was approved on Wednesday by the U.S Senate in a highly bipartisan vote. This is the eighteenth extension since the start of the recession in 2008. The bill has been opposed by Republican lawmakers since its introduction in February due to its projected $34 billion dollar price tag., and fears of the growing $13 trillion U.S deficit. The bill will allow those currently on unemployment to file for extension until November 30, 2010 five months later then the previous date of June 2, 2010. The new extension schedule is retroactive allowing those who are passed the deadline to have payments reestablished.  Benefit payments are expected to go out as early as next week as each state reviews claims based on the guidelines laid out by the bill. This news comes as monthly unemployment claims rose 37,000 to 464,000 up from the 445,000 expected by a Dow Jones economic survey. It is hoped that the continued purchasing power provided to the unemployed will help aid the shaky U.S economy.

Useful links and news around the web:

Some tips for the unemployed.

How to apply for unemployment.

More information about unemployment benefits extension.

Find out if you qualify for unemployment benefit extension.

Some future prediction for unemployment rates and the U.S job market

Senate Democrats have blocked the Republican filibuster on unemployment benefit extension bill H.R. 4213. The block was passed by house Democrats in a 60-40 vote at 2:30 PM on July 21, 2010 after West Virginia Senator Robert Bird’s replacement, Carte Goodwin, was sworn in. The bill, which will now go through a simple majority vote, is expected to pass within the next 24 hours before going to the House of Representatives for vote. The bill once passed will extend filling dead lines for unemployment benefits. This bill however is not the unemployment benefit extension many Americans have hoped for, however the bill would allow individuals in states with an unemployment rate above 8.5% to continuing to collect unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks. The bill is retroactive meaning it would also allow payments to individuals who have failed to file on the previous deadline of June 2 to start receiving benefits again.  It’s thought that this will be helpful to 2.5 million Americans. Currently, 24 states and the District of Columbia qualify for the 99 week deadline. Many are concerned that the filling deadline extension will still leave millions of Americans without an income.  The 99 week unemployed are the most concern as no long term extensions will go into effect.

US unemployment at 9.5 appears to have lowered for now.

The effect bill H.R. 4213 will have on the upcoming elections.

Republicans try to stop unemployment extension.

Unemployment falls but part time jobs raise in the UK.

Unemployment rate has fallen in 39 states.

Recent unemployment stats in the US are all pointing towards a slow but steady economic growth pattern. Statistics issued from the Bureau of Labor indicate that the total number of unemployed Americans has gone down to 14.6 million, which represents a 9.5% proportion of the population. This is despite large exits from Government employment, with an estimated quarter of a million workers being released from temporary contracts now that the 2010 census has been completed. In amongst those finding new jobs, adult women seem to be picking up more work recently, with their unemployment rate falling to just 7.8%. The worst hit group in June were still teenagers, with over 25% of those wishing to work unable to find employment.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Our contest on “What is your Dream Job?” has successfully concluded.  Here are some of the highlighted entries and the winner announcement!  Subscribe to our blog for more contests in the future! Read More »

I Need A Job Now is running its first ever writing contest.  This week’s topic is:  “What is your dream job?”

Have you ever felt like you do not belong in your current position?  What do you really want to do in your life?  Submit a short description of at least 100 words what your dream job is for a chance to win $15 cash or a $15 Amazon gift certificate.    Here are the ways you can enter:

1) Submit your entry as a comment on this post.

2) Write your entry as a post on your own blog and link here.  Old blog posts on the  same topic are welcome.

3) Send your entry by email to ineedajobnownet@gmail.com with the subject “My dream job”

All entries are  due by 11:59PM Pacific Time on 12/27/2009 and one winner will be chosen on 12/30/2009

Happy writing!

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The pace of job loss has slowed, but the government is still the biggest employer out there.  Read on for some news on how the GOP plans to increase jobs, and other news. Read More »