New Fox News Op-ed: Why the higher unemployment rate
The new piece can be found here and starts off this way:
Many see last week’s reported spike in unemployment insurance claims as a signal of the economy’s weakness. There will be more questions this Friday when September’s unemployment numbers are released. In fact, it is a sign of Washington at work.
The number of new unemployment claims soared last week to 493,000. Fox Business’s Donna Fuscaldo spun the news as “underscoring the dour state of the U.S. economy.”
After starting to rise in early January, initial jobless claims peaked this last March. New jobless claims either fell or leveled off after that – that is until July, when they started to rise and kept on rising ever since. After leveling off in June, the unemployment rate also shot up in July and August.
So what happened? What changed in July? . . .
posted by John Lott at 3:11 PM
14 Comments:
The other thing that changed in July was the increase in the minimum wage. Republicans warned and logic dictates that a higher minimum wage would lead to some of those workers being laid off, and it would seem that some were. I don't know how to quantify what part of the increase in unemployment is related to the increased minimum wage, or the lengthening of benefits for that matter.
As someone whose job disappeared in '07 and been unable to find full time work, the extra benefits were a great relief. I understand your position but let's face one fact; THE PEOPLE CLAIMING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS WERE UNEMPLOYED!! You see when someone goes off the unemployment benefit rolls, this is recorded as a DROP in unemployment. Even though I haven't found full time work, I was not listed as unemployed. The unemployment stats do NOT show the actual number of people out of work. You know this (I would assume) and are therefore spinning the facts to make it look like if there were no extra benefits there wouldn't be extra unemployment. Bull$hit and you know it.
Whens the last time you were laid off and had to find a job? I'm currently laid off and if you could give me a job i'd gladly take it.....but theres the problem, theres no jobs to be had. Or do i take a job making minimum wage and actually make less than i would with unemployment? Its great that the people who don't actually deal with these problems are always the ones with all the answers. It seems like a higher unemployment rate would benefit Democrats.....last time i checked Bush was a republican, is he working for the other side now??
wrong info: people who had already used up all their unemployment benefits were eligible for the extra 13 weeks. No one had to wait a week to apply to be eligible, they just had to reapply. That was why the applications went up. WITH THE MAXIMUM BENEFIS IN THIS STATE $275 a week, I promice anyone would rather work.
Despite the stats, I see thousands of high paying jobs posted on employment sites -
www.linkedin.com (networking)
www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
www.realmatch.com (matches you to jobs)
I see 75K, 100K and 150K jobs. There are 5.2 million total job openings and 8.8 million unemployed.
This is the craziest opinion I've ever heard. Without the extension foreclosures would have increased significantly.
With the holidays approaching and no further help, retail sales will decline, foreclosures will increase and there will be more layoffs in the retail and banking sector.
Where do you think those benefits go? To pay MORTGAGES and RENT, that's where!
What a load of crap to bend the reality to support your position. It's clear you've never been unemployed or had kids to feed and rent to pay without any way to do it.
I have an MBA and have applied for everything possible over the last year - I've had 14 interviews. Most of the time I'm told 100 people sent resumes in within the first 3 days the ad was open. Maybe it seems to those who are employed that finding a job is simple and there are lots of jobs to be had - but when you are in the trenches, that's not the reality.
I'm not unemployment enjoying my free time watching Matlock and eating bon bons - I need a real job with a future and a hope for my kids.
I'm sure those who read FoxNews support your position, however. When you've never been there, it's easy to judge.
kim
I have been unemployed 2 times in 2008 and have worked 4 mos out of this year. I do not have the ability to sit on my ass and tell everyone that the reason unemployment has risen is due to the extensions, I live it. The real problem in america is greed and it will continue to be because that is what capitalism is all about. If you want a dose of reality come to WV and deal with what we have to deal with in this state. Coal mines in decline and good jobs replaced with minimum wage jobs. Higher gas prices, higher groceries and the total collapse of faith in the government to do anything about our jobs going overseas. I make more on unemployment than i can on minimum wage so tell me what the hell would you do. I know you would work 2 jobs wouldn't you and have your wife work 2 jobs to make up the lost wages wouldn't you. One of these days we are gonna revolt and take back our right to liberty.
Been there, done that and I did work at minimum wage and worked wherever I could to make ends meet and my wife stayed home and took care of the kid. Rather than crying about how bad things are, went and did something about it. When I better paying job came up, jumped at it and when the employers saw that I had actually been working got the job over others just sitting around waiting for a good job to come up. And if Obama gets elected and taxes go higher on what he calls rich, over 250,000.00 alot of us are going to be alot worse off than we are now since everything trickles down to us who really work.
26 weeks of unemployment equals roughly 4 months. the last time i was looking for a job, it was employed, and it took 4 months from start to finish to find one. it's a nice theory that unemployment went up because of the benefits extension, but i would think that only explains a small part of the increase. it took my husband over 5 months to find a job to replace the one that was lost due to a shutdown, and having those extra weeks would have really helped us....but that all took place last year.
i think everyone should be forced to work fast food and as a server in a bar or restaruant at some point in their lives. i also think that everyone should be forced to pay rent, car payment, insurance, utilities, loan payments, AND feed and diaper an infant on a job that doesn't carry health benefits and pays less than $10 and hour...for at least a few months in their lives. perhaps then we'll do something worthwhile to alleviate this kind of stress for good.
how dare you suggest that because I am without work, I am not looking for work? I have worked 40years .... 21 of them with a fortune 500 company. When my job was "downsized" because the company sent the jobs to a foreign
country, I worked temp jobs until I could get a perm. job. In Jan '08, I was laid off. I have never been unemployed until now. Get your facts straight before you say such things....I send at least 5 resumes a day to jobs that are so beneath my skills and experience that its sad. Employers assume they can't afford me and never call for an interview. Don't you get it, there aren't any jobs!!!!
Don't you dare insult me like you did in your column. You haven't got a clue Mr. My hubsband is 74 yrs old with a very serious health problem and has had to go to work for $10/hr. to help us survive. With unenemployment, we can pay our mortgage, the huge increase in natural gas to heat our home in the coldest region of the USA (far reaches of Northern New York), buy
groceries, medical bills not covered by tinsurance, etc.
And you have the nerve to spin the situation we're in????? You are a cold hearted man without compassion and without any real undertanding of what people are going through. If you were here in my kitchen, I would slap your face and I've never struck anybody before in my life. I NEED HELP AND YOU WRITE THIS LIE...SHAME SHAME ON YOU!
I've been unemployed for almost 6 months now. Everyday I have actively checked theladders.com, monster.com, careerbuilder.com etc... I have also been working with 3 different recruiters trying to find a new job.
I waited almost 2 1/2 months before I applied for unemployment in my state. For you to say that people filing for the benefits are not actively looking for work is beyone the pale. I have exhausted all of my immediate cash savings because the bills still need to be paid. I am now at the point of dipping into my IRA to continue making ends meet. I have a wife and kids who depend on me and I will do everything possible to make sure that they are ok.
Lott,
Yet again, you fail to make a convincing case. Correlation does not equal causality. Your theory (and it is only a theory, even if you state it as fact) only makes sense when viewed through a peculiarly distorted lens.
A quick review of the numbers for 2008 shows there was a drop in claims at the end of March/beginning of April of around 13% What increase in unemployment benefits in April caused this?
What was the new benefit that caused 11% more people to file for unemployment near the end of April?
Please tell us exactly how you think the Democrats engineered all of these fluctuations in unemployment.
What are you smoking.....yes there may be a 10% gray area....but to suggest that in our current economic situation people are just being lazy is plain assanine....we have bills to pay you smuck!!!
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