A little Friday afternoon econolinkage for you.
U.S. durable goods orders tumble 2.4% in August – Excluding transportation, orders weakest since April….
Wichita Suffers From Bizjet Downturn – A severe downturn in the aviation industry has led to the loss of 30,000 jobs in Wichita as the impact from mass layoffs at companies such as Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet has rippled through small suppliers and the economy, according to Mayor Carl Brewer….
Exhaustion Rate Hits New Record: More Than Half Of Unemployed Exhaust Benefits Before Finding A Job – According to the BLS, the exhaustion rate, or the number of people who have used up their benefits, and will no longer be receiving unemployment checks, has hit an all time high of 52.40% for August….
Holiday Jobs Look Scarce as Pessimism Grips Retail – Nearly half the nation’s 25 biggest retail chains expect to hire fewer holiday workers this season than they did last year, another sign that retailers aren’t counting on recession-strained shoppers to relax the tight grip on their pocketbooks this year….
New Home Sales Lose Momentum in August – New home sales, after four months of robust gains, only inched up 0.7% in August, the Commerce Department reported Sept. 25….Existing home sales dropped 2.7% in August on a seasonally-adjusted basis — the first decline in five months, the National Association of Realtors reported Sept. 24. And single-family home housing starts dropped 3% in August from the previous month when adjusted for seasonal variations….
New Unemployment Claims Drop Unexpectedly to 530,000 – The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 530,000 from an upwardly revised 551,000 the previous week….The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped to 553,500. That’s the lowest since late January, though still far above the 325,000 weekly claims typical in a healthy economy….
How could this happen? Obama promised us back in February that if Congress passed his Stimulus massive spending boondoggle plan we’d all be riding cotton candy unicorns by now. Not even revising last week’s initial claims on unemployment number to make this week’s number look like an “improvement” makes the picture look better.
Memo to BenBern: Obama’s recession ain’t over yet.
Tags: Economy
