U.S. jobless claims rose 32,000 to 637,000

Posted May 14th 2009 11:30AM by Connie Madon
Filed under: Bad News, Economic Data, Recession

New jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week by 32,000 to 637,000, much worse than economists predicted. And we have another disappointing number: Continuing claims for unemployment rose to a record high of 6.56 million, up from 6.34 million the previous week. The insured unemployment rate rose by .1% to 4.9%.

Obviously, these numbers are throwing cold water on any claims of reaching bottom. Last week, the Labor Department reported that unemployment rose to 8.9%, the highest level in 25 years.

U.S. wholesale prices also rose in April, led by rising food costs. This is a weird fact because it indicates that we are not spiraling into deflation, but it doesn't help the average person. The increase was led by the price of eggs, beef and milk. The price of gas rose by 2.6% but residential fuel costs eased.

The PPI for finished goods rose 0.3% in April after falling 1.2% in March. Overall, on a 12-month basis, wholesale prices were down 3.7% in April compared with April 2008. If some of these pressures continue, it will push the core PPI into negative territory according to analysts.

Will the economy pick up later this year?

Tags: featured, inthenews, jobless claims, JoblessClaims, ppi, unemployment, wholesale prices, WholesalePrices

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-14-2009 @ 1:48PM

clikdawg said...

Who are these "economists", anyhow? You know -- the ones who are wrong week after week (and even within any given week, since their numbers always have to be upwardly "adjusted"), who didn't see the recession coming, etc.?

Who are they?

And, more importantly, why are THEY still employed?