US jobless numbers returning to pre-Katrina levels

US jobless numbers returning to pre-Katrina levels

NEW YORK - The latest jobless data released by the Labor Department shows that the number of jobless claims spiraled by 30,000 in the week ending November 19 as compared to the previous seven days.

These figures were mainly affected by the increasing job losses in the aftermath of the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which ravaged the US Gulf Coast two months ago. It is estimated that these twin hurricanes left over half a million people without jobs and that the US economy is yet to shake off this massive impact even though the intensity has decreased considerably.

Analysts also feel that the impact of the hurricanes might be finally wearing thin, Gary Thayer of AG Edwards & Sons said, "It looks like the economy is stabilizing after the hurricane-related stresses and we're heading into the holidays with an upturn in confidence that is encouraging and bodes well for the good consumer spending over the next month or so."

This sentiment is also helped by the fact that gasoline prices, which had hit the roof in the aftermath of the hurricanes are slowly but surely easing to more manageable levels. However, the level of unemployment continues to be a worry. The Wall Street had predicted a number in the vicinity of 315,000, but the actual number increased to a seasonally adjusted 335,000. Steven Wood, an economist at Insight Economics felt that the numbers were returning to their pre-hurricane levels and that the November report would be far stronger than the October one, "For the survey week for the November payroll employment report, both new and continuing claims ... are below their October levels. This suggests that the November payroll employment report should be much stronger than the October report," he reasoned.

However, these expectations could be skewed by the announcement of 30,000 job cuts by auto manufacturing giant General Motors. These cuts were announced even as the market speculated that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.