Unemployment: Continuing claims hit new high

Government report shows the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week but the number filing for more than a week hit a record high.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer

What progress is the Obama administration making toward ending the recession?
  • It's succeeding
  • The recovery is too slow
  • It's not helping at all

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the number filing for more than a week hit a fresh record high, according to a government report released Thursday.

In the week ended March 14, a total of 646,000 people filed initial jobless claims, down 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 658,000.

Economists had expected 655,000 new claims, according to a consensus survey by Briefing.com.

However, in a sign that more jobless are having trouble finding work, 5,473,000 people continued claiming unemployment in the week ended March 4 - the latest week for which data was available. That's an increase of 185,000 from the previous week.

"The labor market is still in disarray," said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody's Economy.com. "More layoffs are ahead as businesses continue to cut costs to survive this recession."

While the decrease in first time filings was an encouraging sign, many economists say the 4-week moving average is a more accurate measure of the overall trend in initial claims.

The 4-week moving average for weekly filings, which smoothes out volatile peaks and troughs, was 654,750, up 3,750 from the previous week's revised average.

"The trend in initial claims continues to be a steady climb," Sweet said. "We're going to see more payroll pain ahead even as the recession moderates."

Joblessness will continue to rise until the first half of 2010, with the unemployment rate peaking near 10%, according to Sweet.

The Labor Department said earlier this month that the economy lost 651,000 jobs in February, bringing total job losses over the last six months to more than 3.3 million. That drove the unemployment rate up to 8.1% -- its highest level in 25 years.  To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.