http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/080320/032008_initial_claims.html?.v=4
The United States is receiving more jobless claims than were expected this week. It is the highest level of unemployment claims since 2005. In the past four weeks, there is an average number of 365,250 people whom are claiming to be unemployed for the first time. This shows that they were never unemployed before, but they have just become unemployed. The United States were unsure if they were going into a recession, but according to the chief U.S. economist for Lehman Brothers, this sudden level of unemployment can be used to verify that they truly are in a recession.
In chapter five, we learned what it means to be unemployed and the different types of unemployment. When they are claiming to be unemployed it doesn’t just mean they don’t have a job. It also means they are looking for a job, but cannot get one. If they don’t have a job and they aren’t looking for one, then they are not unemployed, they are not in the labour force. In my opinion, I think the United States is suffering mostly from demand-deficient unemployment. People are getting worried about the economy and therefore are less willing to spend their money. This means less investments and less demand overall causing a shortage of jobs and economic activities.
The United States are going into recession, but it isn’t that bad as some might think. It is natural to have a recession after an expansion. It is just how the economy works and people should not be too worried about this. Their economy will come back in a year or two in my opinion since they are still a very powerful country and have lots of experience in dealing with problems. Also, the number of unemployed people may not definitely indicate anything about the economy. This number may have increased not because people are getting fired, but it may be people who have just decided to join the labour force.