LayoffBlog.com

The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since January, a sign the labor market is deteriorating more slowly as the economy emerges from the recession.

Source: Bloomberg

President Barack Obama is considering a mix of spending programs and tax cuts to respond to widening job losses that would amount to an additional economic stimulus without carrying that label.

Source: Bloomberg

The outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas reported today that planned layoff announcements fell from 76,456 in August to 66,404 in September, the lowest level since March 2008.

Source: Examiner.com

Five states posted jobless rates above 12% in August, according to federal data released Friday:

• Michigan: 15.2%
• Nevada: 13.2%
• Rhode Island: 12.8%
• California: 12.2%
• Oregon: 12.2%

Source: CNNMoney

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week, a sign the labor market is deteriorating at a slower pace as the economy pulls out of the recession.

Applications dropped by 12,000 to 545,000 in the week ended Sept. 12, from a revised 557,000 the week before, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance rose the prior week, to 6.23 million.

Source: Bloomberg

MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island confirmed today that it plans to lay off 120 employees, citing the recession and its impact on hospital admissions.

Source: Chicago Tribune

The nation’s jobless rate unexpectedly jumped last month to a 26-year high of 9.7% from 9.4% in July, the government reported today, as employers shed 216,000 jobs over the month. The August job cuts were smaller than the decline of 276,000 in July, continuing a trend of moderating payroll losses since January when employers slashed 741,000 jobs.

Source: Baltimore Sun

Private non-farm employers cut 298,000 jobs in August, according to estimates by payroll company ADP, a figure that disappointed analysts’ expectations but still showed a gradual easing of job losses.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees lost 122,000 jobs in August, the smallest decline since September 2008, according to the report. Mid-size businesses (with between 50 and 500 employees) lost 116,000 jobs, and large companies lost 60,000.

Source: BusinessWeek

Unemployment rates in 372 U.S. metropolitan areas continued their upward climb in July, Labor Department figures released Tuesday show.
Some 19 metros now have unemployment rates above 15%; eight are in California, hard-hit by the real-estate collapse, and five are in Michigan, suffering from the auto industry’s downturn.

Source: WSJ

(EU): Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro rose in July to the highest in more than 10 years, showing that despite signs of recovery, the European economy continues to struggle. The jobless rate in the euro zone rose to 9.5 percent in July, the highest since May 1999, from 9.4 percent in June, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical service, said Tuesday in Luxembourg.

Source: NYTimes

The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance rose last week, the government said Thursday, surprising economists.

There were 576,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Aug. 15, up from a revised 561,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report.

Source: CNNMoney

The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment rose by 4,000 in the week ended Aug. 8, to 558,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 554,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Florida was among those states with the largest decreases in initial jobless claims, falling 3,358 in the week ended Aug. 1.

Source: TampaBayBizJournal

Employers engaged in 2,994 mass layoffs last quarter, the Labor Department said Wednesday, taking 534,881 workers off the job. That’s more than 70% higher than the 1,756 mass layoff events in the same period last year, as the economy continued to weaken through the end of 2008 and into the beginning of this year.

Source: WSJ

California’s economy, the world’s eighth largest, could see a jobless rate near a stunning 13 percent next year - a level associated more with Rust Belt states, not the home of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Source: Reuters

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits declined by 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 550,000 last week, while the number of people who continued to collect regular benefits rose by 69,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.31 million the prior week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Source: MarketWatch

ADP report shows fewer jobs lost in July, but still no hints that employers are ready to start hiring. The monthly employment survey from Automatic Data Processing showed private-sector payrolls trimmed 371,000 jobs, but the improved figure was still worse than economists projected.

Source: Forbes

Employers in the U.S. for a second straight month announced fewer job cuts than a year earlier, according to a private report, marking the first consecutive year-on-year drops since late 2007.

Planned firings in July fell 5.7 percent to 97,373 from 103,312 in July 2008, Chicago-based placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said today, after a 9 percent year-over- year drop in June. While announcements rose 31 percent from 74,393 in June, the figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects so economists focus on changes from a year ago.

Source: Bloomberg

The sheriff in Alabama’s most populous county may call for the National Guard to help maintain order, a spokesman said Tuesday, after a judge cleared the way for cuts in the sheriff’s budget and hopes dimmed for a quick end to a budget crisis.

Source: YahooNews, AP

~News submitted by upthecreek

A New York woman who says she cannot find a job is suing the college where she obtained a bachelor’s degree, the New York Post reports.

Source: BBC

~News submitted by upthecreek

Unemployment in the 16 countries using the euro rose to a 10-year high of 9.4 percent in June, according to data released Friday. The increase was less than expected, however, following measures by some governments to combat the economic crisis.

Source: NYTimes