Despite the fact that jobless claims slightly fell last week, there was a minimal decrease as only 2000 fewer claims were reportedly made and this does still leave the number of jobless claims in an area that many feel is unhelpful for job creation. Economists believe that when jobless claims remain above 400,000 this is obviously not going to be an environment in which jobs will be made available, but there are also some concerns over other aspects of the job market that may be hindering the forward progression of job creation, due to the fact that some businesses may simply be hesitant to hire at the present time for a variety of reasons.
Some businesses worry about sales, the ability to pay for new workers, and there are some who are concerned about health insurance costs, as businesses are not entirely certain how changes in healthcare laws in 2014 will impact their ability to afford workers health insurance plans, salaries, and other benefits. Yet, many economists and officials feel that before we start to see any improvement in the overall economy other factors will have to see positive results as well, as many feel that housing will be one of the leaders out of our current slump, which at the present time is still causing a great deal of distress for homeowners as well.
While there were reports that home purchases increased in some areas, as well as refinancing activity increased as well, there are still negative equity issues and the ability of homeowners to meet mortgage payments that are causing housing problems to continue. Obviously, many homeowners are aware of changes in the federal refinancing program that can help homeowners in the negative equity situation but continued searches by homeowners to find affordable payment options for their situation has led to the continued need for loss mitigation efforts on the part of financial institutions that serve as these home loans, and there are of course many of these financial setbacks that homeowners are seeing being attributed to unemployment.
Yet, despite the fact that the decrease in jobless claims was small, it is still a positive sign that decreases are being seen, even if it is not enough where job creation will likely see any leaps and bounds in order to make a dent in the overall unemployment problem we have seen. However, it’s hoped that there are still positive reports coming from the area of jobless claims and employment numbers, since we need more job opportunities coming available and these unemployed workers filling these positions at an incredible rate in the coming months if we are to undo damage that many are still feeling from the recession.
