Weekly unemployment claims fall

08.30.09
By Timothy Jones

American consumers struggling to pay credit card debts and mortgages due to job losses may have some relief in sight as figures from the Department of Labor show that initial jobless claims fell last week, signaling that the job marketing may be improving.

According to the Labor Department, initial jobless figures for the week ending August 22 fell 10,000 to 570,000.

The report also found that the total amount of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 119,000 to 6.1 million.

Despite its ongoing economic problem, California saw the steepest drop in initial claims with a 6,286 fall for the week. The state attributed the fall to a fewer number of layoffs in the service industry.

But it wasn't all good news as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida saw the largest initial claim increase for the week. Michigan attributed its 4,068 claim rise to layoffs in the struggling auto industry.

Although the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent in July, some say this is not an accurate representation of the nation's job sector. According to AFP, Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart said this week that if "discouraged workers" - those who have given up looking for work - and those working less hours than they wanted were added to the mix the unemployment rate would reach 16 percent.

More Personal Finance Articles | News Home | Discuss in our Forum

Unemployment figures fell last week