Jobless Claims Hit 6-Year High

By Al Tompkins
Reporters may want to take a trip down to the local unemployment office today. The Labor Department said this morning that the number of people who filed unemployment claims last week hit a six-year high. Of course this sends economists into dizzy spells because it often foreshadows a drop in consumer spending.

Ohio had an unusually high jump.

The Labor Department said:

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 19 were in Puerto Rico (4.9 percent), Michigan (4.0), Rhode Island (3.5), New Jersey (3.4), Pennsylvania (3.4), Wisconsin (3.4), California (3.1), Oregon (3.1), Massachusetts (3.0), and South Carolina (3.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 26 were in Ohio (+4,634), California (+3,911), Illinois (+1,496), Oregon (+817), and West Virginia (+664), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-7,492), Wisconsin (-6,835), North Carolina (-4,415), Puerto Rico (-3,972) and Indiana (-3,792).

The states themselves explained their figures to the Labor Department:

State	Change		State Supplied Comment
IL	+1,496		Layoffs in the trade, service, and manufacturing industries.
CA	+3,911		Layoffs in the trade and service industries.
OH	+4,634		Layoffs in the automobile industry.

Bloomberg says the unexpected jump may be connected to new regulations that allow people to apply for extended benefits.

Story ideas:

• What does unemployment insurance pay? For how long?
• What do people have to do while they draw unemployment?
• Let's meet some folks who have been unemployed for a long time.
• How much does unemployment cost employers?
• How difficult is it to live on unemployment income?
• How often do people who draw unemployment work on the side without declaring the income?
• Are recently discharged vets having a tough time finding work? Did employers hold jobs for them while they were in Iraq or Afghanistan? The Labor Department figures track veteran data week to week, too.
• What kind of job training is available? In Michigan, special help is available for people who want to learn "green" skills.