Jobs Outlook Going from Bad to Worse

Employers are continuing to do more with less, and the outlook for adding back employees is rapidly fading.  It appears that if the economy is going to recover, it will do so without the participation of the job market.

Two weeks ago unemployment claims pierced a psychological barrier of 500,000 claims.  The high unemployment figure comes despite evidence that private business is beginning to add jobs.  Economists have been confused by the conflicting evidence of private gains and overall losses.

From a policy perspective, one of the most difficult concerns is what the government should do about the long term unemployed.  The Emergency Unemployment Claim Program was established in June 2008 to deal with those who are still unemployed at the end of the 24 week compensation period.  That EUC fund was recently extended to Nov. 30 as the numbers as of July 31 surged to over 4.7 million.

This morning the national unemployment rate rose to 9.6%.