Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
Fact-based, data-driven research and analysis to advance democratic debate on vital issues shaping people’s lives.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-293-5380
Fax: 202-588-1356
https://cepr.net
It seems that they don’t. The Labor Department reported that there were 456,000 new claims for unemployment insurance benefits last week. The 4-week moving average was 460,250. Generally the economy will not be generating jobs if claims exceed 400,000. In the first 8 months of 2008, when the recession had already begun but before the financial crisis, claims averaged around 370,000 a week.