Nofsdad
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 7087
Location: Central CA
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject: Jobless rate rises to 4-year high of 5.7 percent
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That's the bad news... the good news is that it wasn't as bad as the "experts" thought it would be. I guess they got tired of being "surprised" when things kept turning out worse than the rosy pictures they were trying to present.
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The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work.
Payroll cuts, however, weren't nearly as deep as the 72,000 economists were forecasting. And, job losses for both May and June were smaller than previously reported.
July's reductions marked the seventh straight month where employers eliminated jobs. So far, this year, the economy has lost a total of 463,00 jobs. |
But for some who still have their jobs, it's still just a "minor recession" if even that.
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| Job losses in July were the heaviest in industries hard hit by the housing, credit and financial debacles. Manufacturers cut 35,000 positions, construction companies got rid of 22,000 and retailers shed 17,000 jobs. Those losses swamped job gains elsewhere, including in the government, education and health care. |
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| Average hourly earnings rose to $18.06 in July, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month. That matched economists' expectations. Over the past year, wages have grown 3.4 percent. |
Before you start smirking over that one, there's this:
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| Paychecks aren't stretching as far because of high food and energy prices. |
Which are the two factors they leave out of government calculations as to real income. Any time you factor them in, the working and middle classes are losing ground quarterly.
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