455,000 New Claimants Seek Unemployment Benefits

First-time claimants to unemployment benefits rose by 455,000 from July 26 – Aug. 2, while the number of continued claimants – those regularly receiving federal unemployment relief – rose to 3.3 million, according to MarketWatch.

According to the Labor Department, the increase is an anomaly created by President Bush’s legislation which extended benefits to many who were previously left out.

The exact reason for the number of claimants is not as important as the number itself. All told, 3.3 million Americans are continually receiving federal unemployment relief, and nearly half a million individuals filed their initial jobless claim in the last week. According to Robert Schroeder of MarketWatch, initial claims totaling 350,000 signal a weakening economy and 400,000 initial claims signal recession. The four-week average of new claims in the U.S. stood at 419,500, well beyond the recession threshold.

This is not only a signal that the economy is in dire straights, but it is also a sign that something must be done about it. While unemployment relief is helpful and needed by the jobless, it is a drain on the federal budget and it is economically unproductive. The economy needs a jumpstart, and that must begin with job creation for Americans.

Source MarketWatch:

Click Here For Solutions To America's Economic Problems: