The employment market and the stock market both took major hits Thursday, with new jobless claims registering as high as 627,000 and market indicators like the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq composite index dipping alarmingly low.
AP via MercuryNews.com:
The jobless numbers were worse than expected and new projections from the Federal Reserve show unemployment rising for the rest of this year.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people receiving regular unemployment benefits rose 170,000 to 4.99 million for the week ending Feb. 7, marking the fourth consecutive week those receiving benefits have been at a record level on data going back to 1967.
The continuing claims figure also was significantly above the year-ago level of 2.77 million and underscored the difficulty people are having in this recession finding another job once they are laid off.
An additional 1.5 million people are receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program approved by Congress last year, bringing the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits to 6.54 million for the week ending Feb. 7.
“The labor market is in disarray,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. It’s possible that job losses for all of February could total between 700,000 and 750,000 based on what weekly claims have done so far this month, he added.
Employers slashed a net total of 598,000 jobs in January, the most since 1974.
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By Mark, February 22, 2009 at 6:45 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
JimM,
It’s a bummer that your 401k is down 60%, but did you complain when it went up 60% from 2003 to 2007?
I heard a great comment from Seidman, former SEC chair. “The public does not understand the concept of risk vs. reward. And they never will”
Markets go up. Markets go down. Diversify.
Report thisBy G.Anderson, February 21, 2009 at 7:55 am Link to this comment
It’s time to think about a new number, and that number is 0. There will be other numbers on the way to O. Numbers like 6,000 and 3,000. But zero is our ultimate destination, maybe in 6 months, maybe sooner.
And there will be other scary days ahead, days on which the world switches from the dollar to another less friendly currency. Days when we are told that the world will no longer buy our debt, because the dollar has no value. Days on which imports, of raw resources and food stop coming to our ports, because we have no way to purchase them. Days of hunger, anger and despair, and a long fiesta of bullets in our streets.
Finally there will be the day on which America realizes that our time on the world stage is over, when all our bases world wide are closed, and all our military are brought home, to supervise us during our final days as a Democracy.
Report thisBy boggs, February 20, 2009 at 9:54 am Link to this comment
The corporate are so busy putting the blame of the falling economy on the backs of the working poor. It helps to cover their own blame which if they were to recognize it they might be expected to take some responsibility.
Report thisSo like good little Limbaugh followers they spew hatred and blame toward the poor.
We all know this whole financial upset was pre-planned and manipulated to rush all available money into the waiting gold lined pots of the wealthy.
If any working man is stupid enough to give one dime to the stock market or any of the larger financial institutions, then he surely deserves to lose that dime and he most assuredly will, given enough time.
By mud, February 20, 2009 at 8:47 am Link to this comment
Damn. If the last two engines fall off this airplane, we will be stuck flying around up here all day long!
Report thisBy Purple Girl, February 20, 2009 at 8:11 am Link to this comment
Close the Stock market when the Adults have to have a conversation!The Wall Streeters need to have something to really cry about- let’s give it to them.
Report thisIn fact every Annuity and pension fund should open these hostage held accounts up and let Us take away their Monopoly money too.
Repugs Loved to talk about Americans managing their own retirment funds- let do it!
Every Damn time someone speaks, discusses policy we have to watch our accounts nose dive on the Boo Woo -O Meter. Wall Streeter have the impulse control of a Pre schooler and their killing US during their psychotic Temper tantrums.
An Old adage from my Mother when I’d cry needlessly ‘Keep Crying and I’ll give you something to cry about!’ Which meant I was gonna be spanked HARD!Something Wall Streeters should learn. Believe me it only took One time for me to know I never wanted to push her that far again!My Mother was not abusive, but she didn’t pull this ‘count to 10 ‘BS, and if she said it, it was goning to happen.Wall street needd those same time of well defined Boundries.
It is an outrage that Wall Street tells the small investor not to take their money out- “you need to just ride it out”- and then we have to watch these Screamin MeMe’s constantly Yell ‘Sell Sell Sell!!’
Frankly we shouldn’t just take away ALL their Monoploy money- we should set the board on Fire!
If you can’t cough up Our money then you forfeit YOURS, and all your Properties and Homes and Hotels Including Park Ave!
If you can’t play the game right, then you don’t get to play the Game!
WANT SOMETHING TI CRY ABOUT NOW????
By Big Bucks, February 20, 2009 at 12:15 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Time to eat dirt peasants, your days of freedom are coming to a close and you’re too fat and stupid to stop us.
Report thisBy GB, February 19, 2009 at 9:26 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Well there’s the answer to how the Republican controlled government’s ideology of trickle down - no market restriction works. Will they admit it? Answer…NO
Report thisThose of us with common sense know the market and economy works the richest when the market is full of purchasing and trading, ground up.
If you give a wealthy person more of a tax break than the average person, he’s going to keep it and not hire someone.
If there are less restrictions on Wall St you will get more corruption leading to massive rip offs.
Why are the Democrats even entertaining the Republicans as legitimate?
The American public is fed up with Republican obstructionism.
We simply can’t afford them anymore.
By JimM, February 19, 2009 at 8:17 pm Link to this comment
This is so freakin’ horrible. I have lost probably 60% of my 401k and retirement accounts.
Report thisEmployers are too hunkered down to hire right now.
bad news for a job developer like me