U.S. Jobless Claims Reach Seven-Year High of 516,000

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance rose last week to the highest level since September 2001, when the economy was last in a recession, as a waning demand led companies to fire more workers. Initial jobless claims increased by 32,000 to a hefty 516,000 in the week ending Nov. 8, from a revised 484,000 the prior week, according to the Washington Labor Department. The total number of people on benefit rolls jumped to the highest level since 1983. Restrictive credit and slumping demand are causing companies to make cuts by trimming payrolls and investment. Rising joblessness will further retrench consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, and threaten a lengthened downturn, economists said. ``The labor market is only reinforcing a very pessimistic picture,'' Linda Barrington, a labor economist at the Conference Board, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``When you start to see the downward pressure on wages as well as the credit crunch, that's only going to make consumers much more nervous, she continued. The total number of Americans receiving jobless benefits rose to 3.9 million in the week ended Nov. 1, the highest level since January 1983. 240,000 jobs were cut last month, making this years total a whopping 1.2 million layoffs, causing the total number of unemployed Americans jumped to a distressing 10.1 million, the highest level in a quarter century, according to last week's jobs report from the Labor Department.

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[wawbwc]

We need to close down the Federal Reserve.