More bad employment news, as claims for weekly first-time unemployment benefits
in the U.S. rose to their highest levels since late March.
Initial jobless claims for the week that ended July 19 rose by 34,000 to hit 406,000
people on unemployment benefits.
The four-week running average of jobless claims -- which smoothes out some of
the volatility experienced in the weekly numbers -- rose to 382,500, according to
the Labor Department.
Most experts agree -- and it's something most of us already know -- that any time
the jobless claims numbers are above 350,000 it's a sign of a very weak job
market... and any time the number hits 400,000 or higher, it's a sign of an economy
in recession.
Furthermore, this rise in unemployment benefits gives further support that we will
see a seventh consecutive month of serious job declines when the July report is
released in early August. Experts are predicting that there will be a net loss of
about 70,000 jobs in the U.S. in July, pushing the unemployment rate to 5.6 percent.
