When people begin to think that things just might get better, they continue to slide downward. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped by 16,000 last week, the second straight weekly increase. But the longer-term trend in layoffs remained consistent with an improved job market.
Applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 357,000 for the week ending March 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s up from 341,000 the previous week, which was revised slightly higher.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 2,250 to 343,000. Even with the gain, the average is only slightly higher than the previous week’s five-year low of 340,750.
Unemployment benefit applications surged during the recession as companies slashed millions of jobs. The number of people seeking aid averaged only 320,000 a week in 2007. That figure soared to 418,000 in 2008 and 574,000 in 2009.
But as layoffs and firings eased, applications for unemployment aid slowly but steadily came down. They fell to 459,000 in 2010, 409,000 in 2011, and 375,000 last year. Through the first 12 weeks of this year they are averaging roughly 353,000.
This comes on the heals of reports that even those who are
working are not to hopeful in the future of their current positions or the economy. This doesn't mean that all is bad.
Hiring is up. Employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month since November. That’s nearly double the average from last spring. Faster job growth helped lower the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent. And economists expect similar job gains in March, in part because of the steady decline in layoffs.
