Unemployment claims rise to 240,000, highest since August

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By PAUL WISEMAN an hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level since August but still remains low by historic standards.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that 240,000 people applied for jobless aid last week, up by 17,000 from the week before. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose by 5,500 to 226,750.

Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs and the current low levels shows that American workers enjoy extraordinary job security.

But it may not last.



FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Morton Grove, Ill., Thursday, April 28, 2022. Labor Department releases weekly report on unemployment benefits on Wednesday, Nov. 23. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-2a0f9402d03450bd97e4fdc310549afd?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_06

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. It happens this time of the year as the Holidays approach.

From Meta, Twitter, Amazon, and other High Tech companies laying off workers.

[at140]

2. My local grocery store cant find workers so now

it has converted to self checkouts. I prefer a human checkout person. That goes fast.
On self checkout it takes me 3 times longer.

[jimfields33]

3. I agree I hate the self checkouts. I'll use it if the line to check out is long, but otherwise never

Stupid Walmart has 100 self checkouts and three human checkouts, but the human checkouts are always empty. Makes me so mad.

[progree]

9. My local chain store now restricts self-checkout lanes to 15 or fewer items, and you have

to pay with a card. It used to be no restrictions on using self-checkout. I think it was to reduce shop-lifting.

Lunds & Byerlys, about 15 stores in the Twin Cities.

Stupid Walmart has 100 self checkouts and three human checkouts, but the human checkouts are always empty.

Myself, I prefer self-checkout but I always have fewer than 25 items and often considerably less (I have to walk my groceries home because I'm an environmental whacko who doesn't have a car although I can easily afford one). I definitely would prefer human checkouts for a cart full.

[jimfields33]

10. I don't like self check out, because, besides taking away workers

We end up doing the work. If they would take 10% of the total for us doing the work of what used to be workers then I could see more, so but why should we do work for free. I don’t get it.

[progree]

12. I get in and out faster, I pack my own bags the way I want them packed (I have to walk them

nearly 2/3 miles home, so how they are packed is important. That way I don't have to repack them).

I'm sorry about the workers, I really am, but with so many jobs begging for workers, I'm not going to stand in line waiting, and then stand there some more when I could be doing something. If they were actually performing a service (saving me some time for example), it would be a different story. But not for a dozen or two dozen items.

Same as I don't go to a bank teller when I want to withdraw cash, I use an ATM.

Same as I don't buy and sell securities at Vanguard by phone (and pay for the "assistance'), I do it with a few clicks online.

Same as I don't try to find a full service gasoline station, easier just to get my rusty dusty out of the car, lift the nozzle, and put it in.

Same as I don't insist on a switchboard operator's help when I make a long distance call.

Same as I didn't have a secretary take dictation, and then go over draft after draft after draft with them. I type it in my computer instead. Because its quicker.

Same as I go to a fast food place when I'm by myself and in a hurry, rather than insist on full table service every time.

We have severe worker shortages around here that have impacted me personally. So I'm just not going to stand on my head and jump through hoops to find the most labor-intensive way to do everything because it makes me feel like a wonderfully wonderful "progressive". Finding the most labor intensive way to do things is not the way we improved living standards over the past few hundred years. Au contraire.

[jimfields33]

14. I can understand that actually.

I totally get it especially with a walk that you have after you buy the groceries. And the examples that you gave are legitimate and I use all those as well. I guess I just need to get used to self check out and I will, just like I had to get used to pumping my own gas. just takes me a little time

[at140]

16. Self checkouts are very slow when shopping produce at grocery store

You have to find the exact match of the item from multiple menu's.
Simple item like Banana can have regular banana, organic banana, other varieties of banana.

If all your items have fixed prices with bar codes, self checkout is not slow.

[MichMan]

19. The store I frequent has scales in produce that let you look up the code and print out a bar code

You stick that on the small clear produce bag and scan it at self checkout like anything else.

[at140]

20. In local Publix store, I have to find the exact item

from the screen showing a thousand different produce items in different chain of screens.

But if I only have a few items in cart, all with bar codes, then self checkout works as fast as manual checkout.

[progree]

21. I've had cashiers ring up a more expensive item a number of times

Last edited Thu Nov 24, 2022, 02:17 PM - Edit history (1)

e.g. savoy cabbage instead of the plain old cabbage that I got, so it's one reason -- a major reason -- why I generally prefer self-checkout. I'm more careful and know what I bought. With maybe 5 produce items and 3 of them have those PLU code stickers on them, it is not a big deal to look up the other two.

[agingdem]

4. "Item not recognized"..

My favorite Whole Foods checkers have been replaced with scanners..I liked those kids, tattooed, pierced, and kind to a 74 year old lady, wearing a mask, and fumbling for her credit card..

[MichMan]

5. If they can't find workers, what do you suggest they do?

Are people on unemployment still required to prove they are looking for work ?

[Bengus81]

6. Comeon....those self checkouts have nothing to do with finding workers

It's all about sticking billions more in CASH in the hands of the 4-5 Mega grocery store chains by having customers do ALL the work. Hell I worked at a Dillions in the late 60's during high school. I was a bagger AND for most customers I followed them to their car and loaded it with their grocery's. They never had any problem keeping checkers or baggers employed.

These self-checkout machines are fine when I have 5-10 items. But no GD way do I load up a cart to the top--about $250+ now days and then run it through a self service where I have to UNLOAD my cart just to LOAD it for the second time. Gawd......

[MichMan]

7. You might to want to read the post I was directly replying to....

Post #2 I'll copy it here for you

"My local grocery store cant find workers so now
it has converted to self checkouts."

[jimfields33]

11. What's crazy is it cost $250,000 per check out in Walmart or Winn-Dixie or Publix

To me, it would pay for itself in what? 10 years but then it’s time for new terminals. I don’t get where the stores think they’re saving money. It seems dumb to me.

[newdayneeded]

15. Is it the saving money or indeed

Last edited Thu Nov 24, 2022, 02:30 AM - Edit history (1)

offered to cut down people's time going through checkout? I personally love the self checkouts, usually no line, check out my 5, 10, or 15 things and I'm out of there!

I'll go through the regular check out when I've got a cart full of groceries. I'm usually 3 deep in line behind someone with a cart piled 2 ft above the cart's rim.

[MichMan]

18. During the pandemic, everyone was encouraged to use self checkout

To avoid any interactions with cashiers and people standing too close to others in checkout lines. People that hadn't used them much before found out that they liked them

[at140]

17. My grocery store has increase wages/hour multiple times during 2022

Grocery stores run on small margin of profit. They can't increase wages so high so the items become unaffordable and people will go to shop Costco or other high volume stores.

[progree]

8. Labor force participation rate is down 5.1 percentage points from the 2000 peak, and has not grown

since January.

I've lost bus service because of a driver shortage (well, I can still walk 1.5 miles (30 minutes) to catch a bus that runs every 2 hours). People looking for childcare and elder care also heavily impacted.

Nationally, the labor force participation rate has been dwindling from a high point of about 67.3% in 2000 to 62.2% now. (It was 62.2% in January, so there hasn't been any progress in that all year).

Meanwhile the population of elderly (such as me) needing more and more service (me not yet but soon) grows.

Labor force participation rate: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

Labor force in thousands: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11000000



The labor force = employed + officially unemployed as per the BLS's monthly Household Survey

The officially unemployed are jobless people who have looked for work in the past 4 weeks (must be more than just looking at job listings). BTW, the officially unemployed is not a count of people claiming unemployment insurance, it has nothing to do with that (a common myth unfortunately).

How the Government Measures Unemployment http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm

[Mr.Bill]

13. I didn'y know Elon Musk

had fired that many people.