Unemployment numbers rose to a new high in the US.
Claims for unemployment benefits surged to their highest levels in 26 years according to the Chicago Tribune.
The data suggests new jobs are harder to find or that the jobless may have stopped looking for work.
The outcome does not look hopeful for the next year say reports.
“Another possible loss of 1 million jobs is just something our economy cannot sustain at the moment,” said Dana Perino, White House spokeswoman, according to the Financial Times.
Economists had originally thought that falling oil prices would narrow the trade gap, but this does not appear to be the case.
Oil prices are at their lowest since January 2005 according to the Daily Record.
In 2008 the US economy has lost 1.9 million jobs reports CNN.
With the US economy now is recession it is difficult to predict if the job market will rise.
Main Damage
Service jobs on the decline do not help the situation.
“Big rises in joblessness in transport and trade, retail, business, temp help and leisure coupled with much smaller rises in government employment did the main damage” Rob Carnell from ING told the Guardian.
“If there is any glimmer of optimism in these figures, it is the unemployment rate, which rose only 0.2 percentage points to 6.7%, lower than the 6.9% we thought likely.”
New unemployment claims have averaged 540,000 a week fro the past month, an almost 60% increase from a year ago according to reports.
“There is no way to sugarcoat it,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with the Wachovia Economics Group to the Atlanta Journal.
“This is really rough.”
The market continues to affect those with and without qualifications
The Atlanta Journal also reports the case of Anthony Esposito,
He has a law degree from the University of Virginia and is still searching for work.
A year ago was offered a job with a pay that would have been up to $145,000.
However, the firm withdrew the offer and Esposito has been looking for work ever since.
“I used to volunteer at the food bank and homeless shelters. To think of reaching out to those agencies now is something new.” he told to the newspaper.
He continues to look for a job.
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