Jobless Claims Show Double-Digit Unemployment Still Coming

The Labor Department has released its figures on weekly jobless claims, and the results are a gain of 27,000 to 640,000.  The numbers from last week’s huge drop went from 610,000 to a revised 613,000.  We had estimates ranging from 636,000 at Bloomberg and 640,000 at Dow Jones.  The continuing claims are another record.

The biggest issue here is the continuing jobless claims of unemployed workers collecting multiple weeks of benefits.  Last week, that number crossed the 6 million mark to some 6.02 million.  This week, that number came in at 93,000 higher to a whopping 6.137 million.  That is the highest on record.

Whether these are better or worse than estimates will not act to slow down the growing unemployment rate at the current pace.  This rate still puts the U.S. at a double-digit unemployment rate,  possibly by the end of summer to late in 2010.

Unemployment is supposed to be a lagging indicator.  But as more and more workers are given the boot you have to wonder how this time might be very different.  Unemployed workers don’t even like to shop at the dollar stores.

JON C. OGG