The number of planned job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers fell 19.3 percent to 150,411 in March, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
The number of announced layoffs had dropped 23 percent to 186,350 in February, said the global outplacement firm, meaning that March numbers mark the first two-month decrease in job cuts since February to March 2007.
Source: Austing Business Journal
U.S. private sector job losses accelerated in March, more than economists’ expectations, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.
ADP said private employers cut 742,000 jobs in March versus a 706,000 revised cut in February that was originally reported at 697,000 jobs. Economists had expected 655,000 private-sector job cuts in March, according to a recent Reuters poll.
Source: Reuters
Seven states posted unemployment rates above 10 percent in February, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Michigan registered the nation’s worst rate, with 12 percent of its labor force out of work as of February 2009.
Also in double digits were South Carolina (11 percent), Oregon (10.8 percent), North Carolina (10.7 percent), California (10.5 percent), Rhode Island (10.5 percent), and Nevada (10.1 percent).
Source: Dayton Business Journal
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week and total benefit rolls soared to a record high, a sign companies may keep shedding jobs as the recession worsens.
First-time unemployment applications increased by 36,000 to 667,000, the highest since 1982, in the week that ended on Feb. 21 from a revised 631,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The number of people staying on benefit rolls rose in the previous week by 114,000 to 5.112 million.
Source: Bloomberg
U.K. unemployment rose in January to the highest level in almost a decade, threatening to erode support for Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the recession deepens.
The number of people receiving jobless benefits climbed 73,800 to 1.23 million, the most since July 1999 and the 12th increase in succession, the Office for National Statistics said today in London.
Source: Bloomberg
A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics shows all 50 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases in December compared with the previous month and the prior year.
December marked the first time every state recorded a rise in monthly unemployment since the bureau began keeping such records in 1976.
Source: The Business Review
According to CNN Money: “The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped sharply from last week to a three-month low, according to a government report released Thursday.
The Labor Department said that initial filings for state jobless benefits fell 24,000 to 467,000 for the week ended Jan. 3.”
According to Bloomberg: “Jobless claims were projected to rise to 545,000, according to the median projection of 35 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 480,000 to 600,000. Claims in the prior week were revised to 491,000 from 492,000.”
Washington Post reports that, “The number of people filing for unemployment benefits hit a 26-year high last week, as the deepening recession forced more employers to cut jobs.
First-time claims for unemployment rose 5.4 percent, to 586,000 for the week ending Dec. 20, the Labor Department reported this morning. The last time claims were that high was Nov. 27, 1982. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile indicator, rose to 558,000 from 544,250, also a 26-year high. ”
It was reported earlier that the jobless claims fell somewhat, and now they seem to be on the rise again.
According to CNNMoney: “The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, according to a government report released Thursday. However the ranks of the jobless continued to swell.
The Labor Department said that initial filings for state jobless benefits fell to 554,000 for the week ended Dec. 13. That was a decline of 21,000 from the 26-year high of a revised 575,000 claims a week earlier.”
According to BusinessWeek: “Just 37% of jobless U.S. workers are covered by unemployment insurance, down from 42% during the 1981-1982 recession and 50% during the 1974-75 downturn.”
According to Bloomberg: “U.S. employers cut 240,000 jobs in October, a 10th consecutive decline. The unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent, the highest level in 14 years, according to Labor Department statistics.
“It is clearly not going to end in a few months,” Jeffrey Frankel, a member of the NBER committee and a professor at Harvard University, said in an interview. “We would be lucky to get done with it in the middle of next year.” “
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