US Jobless Claims Rise
VOA - Thursday, December 1st, 2011
The number of people signing up for unemployment compensation rose slightly last week in the United States, a sign that the labor market remains troubled.
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department says new jobless claims rose 6,000 to a nationwide total of 402,000.
On Friday, government experts will publish the latest unemployment data, which is expected to show that the unemployment rate stayed at 9 percent.
Economists surveyed by news agencies also predict that the economy will have a net gain of 150,000 jobs in November, which is just slightly above the number needed to accommodate new entrants to the work force.
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
2011-12-01
2011-09-14
Nearly one-sixth of U.S. population lives in poverty
Poor Americans Struggle With High Health Care Costs
Suzanne Presto
VOA - September 13, 2011
Census data released Tuesday show that 46 million people live in poverty in the United States. The 2010 census also shows that a slightly higher figure, almost 50 million people, in the U.S. do not have health coverage.
Nearly one-sixth of the U.S. population lives in poverty. Garrett Adams, a medical doctor in the southeastern United States, says financial constraints are preventing people from getting the life-saving health treatments they need.
Adams' voice choked with emotion as he addressed federal lawmakers Tuesday. For several minutes, he spoke of people he knew personally, saying there is a cycle in which poverty can be a death sentence and illness can be a poverty sentence.
"Clay Morgan, an automobile mechanic in Henry County, Kentucky, owned his own business. He got malignant melanoma [a form of cancer], was treated, improved, and thought to be cured, but now was bankrupted. Cancer returned. Depressed, and unwilling to bring more medical debt on his family, Clay went into the backyard and took his own life," Adama said.
Dr. Adams founded a not-for-profit medical clinic in a poor area of Tennessee last year. He said he was tired of seeing friends in the mountain town being taken advantage of by for-profit hospitals and deprived of affordable health care.
In 2010, nearly 50 million people in the United States did not have health insurance, a slightly higher number that the previous year. Most of those uninsured are younger than 65, the age at which the government provides health care.
Dr. Adams told U.S. lawmakers that health care options for younger Americans and the working poor are limited, and when they do find care, it can be too late.
"Doris, [age] 58, and her husband operated a small, local restaurant before her illness forced them to close the restaurant. Estimated annual income $13,000. No insurance. No medical care. She heard we offered mammograms. We diagnosed breast cancer. Paula, 32, cervical cancer surgery two years ago, but no follow-up because of no insurance and no money," Adams said.
In the United States, most people who have health coverage have such insurance through their employers.
Robert Greenstein is an economist and president of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"The number of people who are uninsured grew in 2010 due principally to continued erosion in employer-based coverage," said Greenstein.
The unemployment rate in the United States remains above nine percent, as it was last year, and not all employers are required to provide health benefits.
Elise Gould is the director of health policy research at the Economy Policy Institute in Washington. She told reporters that young adults aged 18 to 24 are the least likely to be covered by their employers.
Gould credited recent government initiatives with improving their access to health care.
"Health reform played a key role in stemming the fall of workplace coverage for young adults. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as 'health reform', included provisions that allowed young adults up to age 26 to secure health insurance coverage through their parents' employer-sponsored health insurance policies," Gould said.
The officials say one-third of people without insurance live in poverty. According to the 2010 census figures, the official poverty rate was 15.1 percent - up from 14.3 percent in 2009.
In the United States, a family of four is considered to live in poverty if the household income is below about $22,000.
Dr. Tim Hulsey told lawmakers Tuesday that poverty has different meanings throughout the world. A cosmetic surgeon, Hulsey has provided medical care to children with cleft palates in Central America. He described cardboard houses, polluted water sources and no sanitation, which he said can be a death sentence.
Hulsey said in the United States, Americans have opportunities to adopt healthy lifestyles and more care options such as free clinics, charity organizations, and doctors who are willing to volunteer their services, as he does.
"In other words, there is little reason other than failure to seek care that poverty should be a death sentence in this country," Hulsey said.
Economist Greenstein acknowledged to reporters that just as Americans are dealing with health care issues, U.S. lawmakers are dealing with budget shortfalls.
"Even before today's grim figures, the United States had higher degrees of poverty and inequality than most other Western industrialized nations. We need deficit reduction, but it need not make these problems even more severe than they already are," Greenstein said.
While the number of people living in poverty and the number of uninsured are similar, it is not only impoverished people who do not have health insurance.
One-fifth of America's 50 million uninsured have a household income of more than $75,000 a year.
Suzanne Presto
VOA - September 13, 2011
Census data released Tuesday show that 46 million people live in poverty in the United States. The 2010 census also shows that a slightly higher figure, almost 50 million people, in the U.S. do not have health coverage.
Nearly one-sixth of the U.S. population lives in poverty. Garrett Adams, a medical doctor in the southeastern United States, says financial constraints are preventing people from getting the life-saving health treatments they need.
Adams' voice choked with emotion as he addressed federal lawmakers Tuesday. For several minutes, he spoke of people he knew personally, saying there is a cycle in which poverty can be a death sentence and illness can be a poverty sentence.
"Clay Morgan, an automobile mechanic in Henry County, Kentucky, owned his own business. He got malignant melanoma [a form of cancer], was treated, improved, and thought to be cured, but now was bankrupted. Cancer returned. Depressed, and unwilling to bring more medical debt on his family, Clay went into the backyard and took his own life," Adama said.
Dr. Adams founded a not-for-profit medical clinic in a poor area of Tennessee last year. He said he was tired of seeing friends in the mountain town being taken advantage of by for-profit hospitals and deprived of affordable health care.
In 2010, nearly 50 million people in the United States did not have health insurance, a slightly higher number that the previous year. Most of those uninsured are younger than 65, the age at which the government provides health care.
Dr. Adams told U.S. lawmakers that health care options for younger Americans and the working poor are limited, and when they do find care, it can be too late.
"Doris, [age] 58, and her husband operated a small, local restaurant before her illness forced them to close the restaurant. Estimated annual income $13,000. No insurance. No medical care. She heard we offered mammograms. We diagnosed breast cancer. Paula, 32, cervical cancer surgery two years ago, but no follow-up because of no insurance and no money," Adams said.
In the United States, most people who have health coverage have such insurance through their employers.
Robert Greenstein is an economist and president of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"The number of people who are uninsured grew in 2010 due principally to continued erosion in employer-based coverage," said Greenstein.
The unemployment rate in the United States remains above nine percent, as it was last year, and not all employers are required to provide health benefits.
Elise Gould is the director of health policy research at the Economy Policy Institute in Washington. She told reporters that young adults aged 18 to 24 are the least likely to be covered by their employers.
Gould credited recent government initiatives with improving their access to health care.
"Health reform played a key role in stemming the fall of workplace coverage for young adults. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as 'health reform', included provisions that allowed young adults up to age 26 to secure health insurance coverage through their parents' employer-sponsored health insurance policies," Gould said.
The officials say one-third of people without insurance live in poverty. According to the 2010 census figures, the official poverty rate was 15.1 percent - up from 14.3 percent in 2009.
In the United States, a family of four is considered to live in poverty if the household income is below about $22,000.
Dr. Tim Hulsey told lawmakers Tuesday that poverty has different meanings throughout the world. A cosmetic surgeon, Hulsey has provided medical care to children with cleft palates in Central America. He described cardboard houses, polluted water sources and no sanitation, which he said can be a death sentence.
Hulsey said in the United States, Americans have opportunities to adopt healthy lifestyles and more care options such as free clinics, charity organizations, and doctors who are willing to volunteer their services, as he does.
"In other words, there is little reason other than failure to seek care that poverty should be a death sentence in this country," Hulsey said.
Economist Greenstein acknowledged to reporters that just as Americans are dealing with health care issues, U.S. lawmakers are dealing with budget shortfalls.
"Even before today's grim figures, the United States had higher degrees of poverty and inequality than most other Western industrialized nations. We need deficit reduction, but it need not make these problems even more severe than they already are," Greenstein said.
While the number of people living in poverty and the number of uninsured are similar, it is not only impoverished people who do not have health insurance.
One-fifth of America's 50 million uninsured have a household income of more than $75,000 a year.
2011-09-01
Unemployment To Stay High Through 2012 in USA
White House: US Unemployment To Stay High Through 2012
Kent Klein | White House
September 01, 2011
VOA
White House economists predicted Thursday that U.S. unemployment will stay at or near its present level throughout next year. They also say that economic growth will be slower than previously projected.
A report from the Office of Management and Budget forecast the nation’s jobless rate to remain near its current level of nine percent through 2012.
Continued high unemployment could threaten President Barack Obama’s prospects for re-election.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to lay out his plan for job creation and economic recovery next week, before a joint session of Congress.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday the president’s initiatives, if implemented, would help to reduce the jobless rate.
“Economists will be able to look at this series of proposals and say that, based on history, based on what we know, based on their collected expertise, that it would add to economic growth and it would cause an increase in job creation,” Carney said.
The administration report also forecast overall growth of just 1.7 percent this year, one percent less than predicted earlier this year.
The economy grew at seven-tenths of one percent in the first half of 2011, its slowest pace in two years.
The White House predicts a federal deficit of $1.3 trillion for the fiscal year which ends September 30. That is a slight increase over last year’s deficit but more than $300 billion below February’s forecast.
The administration delayed release of the report, which had been due in July, because of legislative battles over the debt limit and the budget.
2011-03-04
Unemployment Drops to 8.9 Percent in USA
US Unemployment Drops to 8.9 Percent
Mil Arcega | Washington, D.C. March 04, 2011 - VOA
U.S. unemployment dipped below 9 percent last month, as private employers added the most jobs since April. The U.S. Labor Department released its monthly employment report Friday, showing the U.S. economy picked up a net total of 192,000 jobs in February. That brings the U.S. jobless rate to 8.9 percent - the lowest in nearly two years and another sign that the US recovery is picking up steam.
In the Midwestern state of Wisconsin - another sign of the improving economy. The Oshkosh Corporation is hiring 750 workers to service its military contracts. For the 2,500 applicants competing for those jobs, it's a welcome glimmer of hope.
One man in Wisconsin said, "Fourteen years in the paper industry and a little bit in between there, and now I've hopefully got a new start."
And the latest job numbers support his optimism. Private employers added 222,000 jobs last month, bringing the nation's unemployment rate to its lowest level since April 2009.
Wells Fargo chief economist John Silva said it shows that companies are more confident about a sustained U.S. recovery. "It was nice to see the unemployment rate down a little bit. It was good to see that most of the job growth was in fact in the private sector. I think those are all good signs telling us that we have sustained economic growth and a better labor market."
The fastest growth has been in the manufacturing and service sectors, which have benefited from higher consumer spending and an increase in U.S. exports abroad.
Still, the total number of unemployed remains high at 13.7 million, nearly double what it was before the recession. Factoring in those wishing to work more hours and those who have given up looking for work - the so-called underemployment rate is 15.9 percent.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said, "We need to be reminded that we've added jobs. One and a half million private sector jobs, and that, I think, it's right where we need to be, but we need to continue to not lose sight of where we need to go to increase opportunities for people to get employed in new jobs."
A larger threat to sustained job growth, though, is the rising price of oil - now above $100 a barrel. White House spokesman Jay Carney said,
"The president is extremely aware of the impact that a spike in oil prices can have on gasoline prices and therefore on the wallets and pocketbooks of average Americans."
Unemployment has dropped nearly one percent since November. Average paychecks have remained flat, however, which means higher gas prices could put a serious dent in consumer spending.
US Unemployment Drops to 8.9 Percent
Article and video from VOA
Mil Arcega | Washington, D.C. March 04, 2011 - VOA
U.S. unemployment dipped below 9 percent last month, as private employers added the most jobs since April. The U.S. Labor Department released its monthly employment report Friday, showing the U.S. economy picked up a net total of 192,000 jobs in February. That brings the U.S. jobless rate to 8.9 percent - the lowest in nearly two years and another sign that the US recovery is picking up steam.
In the Midwestern state of Wisconsin - another sign of the improving economy. The Oshkosh Corporation is hiring 750 workers to service its military contracts. For the 2,500 applicants competing for those jobs, it's a welcome glimmer of hope.
One man in Wisconsin said, "Fourteen years in the paper industry and a little bit in between there, and now I've hopefully got a new start."
And the latest job numbers support his optimism. Private employers added 222,000 jobs last month, bringing the nation's unemployment rate to its lowest level since April 2009.
Wells Fargo chief economist John Silva said it shows that companies are more confident about a sustained U.S. recovery. "It was nice to see the unemployment rate down a little bit. It was good to see that most of the job growth was in fact in the private sector. I think those are all good signs telling us that we have sustained economic growth and a better labor market."
The fastest growth has been in the manufacturing and service sectors, which have benefited from higher consumer spending and an increase in U.S. exports abroad.
Still, the total number of unemployed remains high at 13.7 million, nearly double what it was before the recession. Factoring in those wishing to work more hours and those who have given up looking for work - the so-called underemployment rate is 15.9 percent.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said, "We need to be reminded that we've added jobs. One and a half million private sector jobs, and that, I think, it's right where we need to be, but we need to continue to not lose sight of where we need to go to increase opportunities for people to get employed in new jobs."
A larger threat to sustained job growth, though, is the rising price of oil - now above $100 a barrel. White House spokesman Jay Carney said,
"The president is extremely aware of the impact that a spike in oil prices can have on gasoline prices and therefore on the wallets and pocketbooks of average Americans."
Unemployment has dropped nearly one percent since November. Average paychecks have remained flat, however, which means higher gas prices could put a serious dent in consumer spending.
US Unemployment Drops to 8.9 Percent
Article and video from VOA
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