What happened to all of the doom and gloom economic threads?
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits jumped 28,000 to a four-month high of 385,000 in the week ended March 30, the Labor Department said Thursday, but much of the increase likely reflects seasonal quirks related to the Easter holiday and spring break. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted claims would fall to 350,000 from an unrevised 357,000 in the prior week. The raw claims numbers were virtually identical for both weeks, however, suggesting that the government's seasonal-adjustment process exaggerated the increase. Still, the spike in claims adds to other recent reports suggesting that the pace of hiring in the U.S. has slowed. Meanwhile, the average of new claims in the last four weeks rose by 11,250 to 354,250 to mark a one-month high. Also, Labor said continuing claims decreased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.06 million in the week ended March 23. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. Initial claims from two weeks ago were unrevised at 357,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level.
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Weekly jobless claims jump 28,000 to 385,000 in worst reading since November
SURPRISE
NIGGER CURRY didn't show up
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ClusterFuck, only a NIGGER would defend
If you thought nothing could be more tedious than filling out your tax forms, just wait until you try to apply for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s new exchanges.
The draft of the paper application is 15 to 21 pages, depending on whether someone is applying individually or for their family. See the Application for Health Insurance
And the instructions for the application run no less than 61 pages. That’s nearly six times longer than the instructions for a green-card application. (There are also videos of the process.)
“If you like IRS forms, you’re going to love this one,” says Ken Hoagland, chairman of Restore America’s Voice, a conservative organization that advocates for the repeal of the health-care law. “These are the kinds of things that are going to drive people crazy.”
Adding to the confusion from this new bureaucracy is that experts say most Americans are still largely in the dark about what the health-insurance exchanges — the new marketplaces for individual insurance stipulated by the health-reform law — even are. Though government officials are hurrying to set them up before open enrollment for 2014 begins this fall, a survey released today by InsuranceQuotes.com found that 90% of U.S. consumers don’t know that the exchanges open Oct. 1, and 22% said they thought the exchanges were already open now.
That lack of knowledge doesn’t bode well for how consumers will actually manage to sign up for insurance on their own, experts say — something they will have to do or else pay a penalty mandated by the health-reform law.
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released the draft versions of the applications consumers will need to fill out in order to get insurance if they can’t get it through their employer or family. But while the point behind the law and the exchanges is to make it easier for Americans to get health insurance, some consumers are complaining that a major barrier now stands in their way: too much paperwork.
“It’s a lot of information that consumers are going to have to provide, and that could deter people from signing up,” says Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, part of Bankrate.com, which tracks interest rates. “That could be an issue for some people who don’t like paperwork. And who likes paperwork?”
The forms bring to mind the IRS instructions for filing the 1040 tax form, which is 105 pages long. In fact, many of the questions have less to do with health matters than financial ones.
A little-known government disclosure requirement offers a clue, at least, to how much time it will take consumers to fill out the forms. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Health Department had to submit an “Information Collection Request” along with the draft forms, detailing why it is seeking the information and an estimate for how long it will take the public to provide. The online application will take 15 to 30 minutes to complete depending on whether consumers are applying for additional government subsidies, according to the ICR.
Click to Play Opinion: What Obamacare savings?Editorial board member Joe Rago on why it’s indisputable that health premiums will increase under ObamaCare. Photo: Associated Press
Meanwhile, the paper application will take 20 to 45 minutes to finish. (By comparison, the department estimated that applications through the small-business health-plan exchanges, known as SHOP, will only take about 10 to 13 minutes to complete.)
But experts say those time estimates don’t include the many hours of homework consumers will have to do before they will even be equipped to fill out the forms, like gather proof of their income. “Consumers are going to need to be prepared,” Adams says.
Government officials and all kinds of other organizations are now parsing the exchange applications and sending feedback to the Health Department on how to make the forms clearer if not idiot-proof. The Massachusetts Medicaid office, for example, suggested in a letter in February that the phrase “please print” be added to the paper form, “so the written information will be as legible as possible.”
And members of the House Ways and Means committee complained that the forms included too many gratuitous questions, asking about applicants’ voter registration status. “As if the insurance application process will not be complicated enough, HHS’s proposed application includes an inquiry about something totally unrelated to health insurance,” wrote Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in a letter last week to the Department.
While the health reform law also provides for a support staff known as “Navigators” to help consumers sign up for insurance in the exchanges, experts worry that the Navigators will be overwhelmed with requests, and consumers who call their inundated phone lines will be stuck on hold for a while. “People won’t be able to get through,” Adams says. (Yesterday, HHS proposed training and ethics regulations for the Navigators, which don’t include specific provisions about answering phones in a timely fashion, but dictate that Navigators “will be fair and impartial and will be appropriately trained, and that they will provide services and information in a manner that is accessible.”)
Adams recommends that consumers start the application process right away when the exchanges open in October, because as 2014 approaches, the deadline for when all Americans must have health insurance, the rush of last-minute applicants may bring the enrollment websites crashing down. “Our fear is that people are going to put it off til New Year’s Eve, and by then the sites will be overloaded and Navigators will be overloaded,” Adams says.
If you thought nothing could be more tedious than filling out your tax forms, just wait until you try to apply for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s new exchanges.
The draft of the paper application is 15 to 21 pages, depending on whether someone is applying individually or for their family. See the Application for Health Insurance
And the instructions for the application run no less than 61 pages. That’s nearly six times longer than the instructions for a green-card application. (There are also videos of the process.)
“If you like IRS forms, you’re going to love this one,” says Ken Hoagland, chairman of Restore America’s Voice, a conservative organization that advocates for the repeal of the health-care law. “These are the kinds of things that are going to drive people crazy.”
Adding to the confusion from this new bureaucracy is that experts say most Americans are still largely in the dark about what the health-insurance exchanges — the new marketplaces for individual insurance stipulated by the health-reform law — even are. Though government officials are hurrying to set them up before open enrollment for 2014 begins this fall, a survey released today by InsuranceQuotes.com found that 90% of U.S. consumers don’t know that the exchanges open Oct. 1, and 22% said they thought the exchanges were already open now.
That lack of knowledge doesn’t bode well for how consumers will actually manage to sign up for insurance on their own, experts say — something they will have to do or else pay a penalty mandated by the health-reform law.
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released the draft versions of the applications consumers will need to fill out in order to get insurance if they can’t get it through their employer or family. But while the point behind the law and the exchanges is to make it easier for Americans to get health insurance, some consumers are complaining that a major barrier now stands in their way: too much paperwork.
“It’s a lot of information that consumers are going to have to provide, and that could deter people from signing up,” says Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, part of Bankrate.com, which tracks interest rates. “That could be an issue for some people who don’t like paperwork. And who likes paperwork?”
The forms bring to mind the IRS instructions for filing the 1040 tax form, which is 105 pages long. In fact, many of the questions have less to do with health matters than financial ones.
A little-known government disclosure requirement offers a clue, at least, to how much time it will take consumers to fill out the forms. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Health Department had to submit an “Information Collection Request” along with the draft forms, detailing why it is seeking the information and an estimate for how long it will take the public to provide. The online application will take 15 to 30 minutes to complete depending on whether consumers are applying for additional government subsidies, according to the ICR.
Click to Play Opinion: What Obamacare savings?Editorial board member Joe Rago on why it’s indisputable that health premiums will increase under ObamaCare. Photo: Associated Press
Meanwhile, the paper application will take 20 to 45 minutes to finish. (By comparison, the department estimated that applications through the small-business health-plan exchanges, known as SHOP, will only take about 10 to 13 minutes to complete.)
But experts say those time estimates don’t include the many hours of homework consumers will have to do before they will even be equipped to fill out the forms, like gather proof of their income. “Consumers are going to need to be prepared,” Adams says.
Government officials and all kinds of other organizations are now parsing the exchange applications and sending feedback to the Health Department on how to make the forms clearer if not idiot-proof. The Massachusetts Medicaid office, for example, suggested in a letter in February that the phrase “please print” be added to the paper form, “so the written information will be as legible as possible.”
And members of the House Ways and Means committee complained that the forms included too many gratuitous questions, asking about applicants’ voter registration status. “As if the insurance application process will not be complicated enough, HHS’s proposed application includes an inquiry about something totally unrelated to health insurance,” wrote Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in a letter last week to the Department.
While the health reform law also provides for a support staff known as “Navigators” to help consumers sign up for insurance in the exchanges, experts worry that the Navigators will be overwhelmed with requests, and consumers who call their inundated phone lines will be stuck on hold for a while. “People won’t be able to get through,” Adams says. (Yesterday, HHS proposed training and ethics regulations for the Navigators, which don’t include specific provisions about answering phones in a timely fashion, but dictate that Navigators “will be fair and impartial and will be appropriately trained, and that they will provide services and information in a manner that is accessible.”)
Adams recommends that consumers start the application process right away when the exchanges open in October, because as 2014 approaches, the deadline for when all Americans must have health insurance, the rush of last-minute applicants may bring the enrollment websites crashing down. “Our fear is that people are going to put it off til New Year’s Eve, and by then the sites will be overloaded and Navigators will be overloaded,” Adams says.
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SCHMUCK, spend $25K for 4 yrs in CUNT STUDIES, you will make BIG $
McDonald’s want ad demands bachelor’s degree, two years experience for cashier
WA Examiner
With colleges producing more graduates, and youth unemployment at a sky-high 11.5 percent, even landing a job selling Big Macs is getting competitive.
Consider: A job opening at a Massachusetts McDonald’s restaurant for a full-time cashier requires one to two years experience and a bachelor’s degree.
“Get a weekly paycheck with a side order of food, folks and fun,” offered McDonalds.
It is not clear if the fast-food restaurant really wants that kind of experience or is fishing for the highest-qualified applicants. The website for the Winchedon, Mass., McDonald’s also lists jobs in Spanish.
Youth advocates said the ad is proof of how bad the employment situation is for kids. “Sadly we’ve taxed-and-spent our way to an economy in which there’s intense competition for just about any job. Combine that with government meddling in the student loan market that has artificially inflated the cost of higher education and young people are getting screwed over even worse than the country overall,” said Evan Feinberg, president of the Washington-based youth advocacy group Generation Opportunity.
The ad via JobDiagnosis.com:
Crew (Cashiers)
Contract type : Full Time
Positions available : 1
Experience required : 1-2 Years
Studies level required : Bachelor Degree
Location : Winchendon
Weekly working duration : Full Time
McDonald’s want ad demands bachelor’s degree, two years experience for cashier
WA Examiner
With colleges producing more graduates, and youth unemployment at a sky-high 11.5 percent, even landing a job selling Big Macs is getting competitive.
Consider: A job opening at a Massachusetts McDonald’s restaurant for a full-time cashier requires one to two years experience and a bachelor’s degree.
“Get a weekly paycheck with a side order of food, folks and fun,” offered McDonalds.
It is not clear if the fast-food restaurant really wants that kind of experience or is fishing for the highest-qualified applicants. The website for the Winchedon, Mass., McDonald’s also lists jobs in Spanish.
Youth advocates said the ad is proof of how bad the employment situation is for kids. “Sadly we’ve taxed-and-spent our way to an economy in which there’s intense competition for just about any job. Combine that with government meddling in the student loan market that has artificially inflated the cost of higher education and young people are getting screwed over even worse than the country overall,” said Evan Feinberg, president of the Washington-based youth advocacy group Generation Opportunity.
The ad via JobDiagnosis.com:
Crew (Cashiers)
Contract type : Full Time
Positions available : 1
Experience required : 1-2 Years
Studies level required : Bachelor Degree
Location : Winchendon
Weekly working duration : Full Time
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$423,500 Stimulus Program on 'Correct Condom Use' Yields Zero Jobs
The details of a stimulus grant awarded to Indiana University to study condom use have now been released on a government website. The study, titled "Barriers to Correct Condom Use," is now completed, according to the website, and the university received $423,500 of stimulus funds to perform the study.
The stimulus project yielded a total of 0.00 jobs created, according to the federal government. "No jobs created/retained," the form says under "Description of Jobs Created."
"Sexually transmitted infections (STI), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), pose significant health risks," a synopsis of study reads. "Consistent and correct use of condoms can be a highly effective method of preventing the transmission of HIV and many STIs, yet studies show that problems with condom use are common. This project is one of the first to examine under controlled conditions the role of cognitive and affective factors and condom skills in explaining condom use problems in young, heterosexual adult men."
The findings from the study have not been posted on the government website, however.
The details of a stimulus grant awarded to Indiana University to study condom use have now been released on a government website. The study, titled "Barriers to Correct Condom Use," is now completed, according to the website, and the university received $423,500 of stimulus funds to perform the study.
The stimulus project yielded a total of 0.00 jobs created, according to the federal government. "No jobs created/retained," the form says under "Description of Jobs Created."
"Sexually transmitted infections (STI), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), pose significant health risks," a synopsis of study reads. "Consistent and correct use of condoms can be a highly effective method of preventing the transmission of HIV and many STIs, yet studies show that problems with condom use are common. This project is one of the first to examine under controlled conditions the role of cognitive and affective factors and condom skills in explaining condom use problems in young, heterosexual adult men."
The findings from the study have not been posted on the government website, however.
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Ulaven_Demorte
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I see Dizzybooby had a meltdown, must have been some good news.
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I see Dizzybooby had a meltdown, must have been some good news.
another deaf dumb and blind NIGGER
so many of em
mercury14
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- +88k jobs added in March.
- January was revised from +119,000 to +148,000 jobs
- February was revised from +236,000 to +268,000.
- The unemployment rate fell to 7.6%.
- The U-6 plummeted from 14.3% to 13.8%.
- Discouraged workers dropped 83,000.
- The civilian labor force percentage dropped to 63.3k.
- The unemployment rate for blacks dropped .5%.
- Marginally attached workers dropped by -252,000.
- Construction jobs +18k.
- The number of Americans working part-time for economic reasons dropped by -350,000. That's a huge fucking number. I thought Obamacare was shuffling people into part-time work, what happened?
www.bls.gov
- January was revised from +119,000 to +148,000 jobs
- February was revised from +236,000 to +268,000.
- The unemployment rate fell to 7.6%.
- The U-6 plummeted from 14.3% to 13.8%.
- Discouraged workers dropped 83,000.
- The civilian labor force percentage dropped to 63.3k.
- The unemployment rate for blacks dropped .5%.
- Marginally attached workers dropped by -252,000.
- Construction jobs +18k.
- The number of Americans working part-time for economic reasons dropped by -350,000. That's a huge fucking number. I thought Obamacare was shuffling people into part-time work, what happened?
www.bls.gov
Last edited:
mercury14
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Conservatives say the U-6 is what really matters and it dropped half a point. You'll all hide from your own comments though and pretend like the economy didn't just create nearly a million jobs in four months. Instead you'll focus on the continued gradual decline in the workforce participation rate which is a function of the aging population and the baby boomer generation rushing into retirement, pretending like conservative policies would have kept them working.
But yeah, huge plunge in the U-6. Anyone seem Vette today?
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WELL, WHO WOULDN’T? Democrats have doubts about Obamacare too.
President Obama is eager to build public support for his health care overhaul in the few months remaining before its implementation, but waning enthusiasm from Democrats threatens his effort right out of the gate.
Two-thirds of Democrats now believe Obama’s health care reforms will either hurt them personally or have no effect on their daily lives, a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows. In comparison, just 27 percent of Democratic respondents said the reforms would help them.
The president has long struggled to convince independent and Republican-leaning voters that his health care blueprint would lower premiums and expand insurance coverage.
However, an inability to convince his own party that the reforms have merit suggests an even bigger problem for the president ahead of the 2014 implementation.
A little more deliberation before the bill was crammed through might have been wise.
President Obama is eager to build public support for his health care overhaul in the few months remaining before its implementation, but waning enthusiasm from Democrats threatens his effort right out of the gate.
Two-thirds of Democrats now believe Obama’s health care reforms will either hurt them personally or have no effect on their daily lives, a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows. In comparison, just 27 percent of Democratic respondents said the reforms would help them.
The president has long struggled to convince independent and Republican-leaning voters that his health care blueprint would lower premiums and expand insurance coverage.
However, an inability to convince his own party that the reforms have merit suggests an even bigger problem for the president ahead of the 2014 implementation.
A little more deliberation before the bill was crammed through might have been wise.
mercury14
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it would have
And you're right because they'd be so abysmally poor they'd have to work past retirement age to survive and they'd have no socialist health care they need to live on.
mercury14
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Obama kicked your asses by running on Obamacare last year. It's over no matter how much you want to keep insisting it's not. You lost. Own it.
mercury14
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What else is in this report.
- Government employment was down -14,000, including -12k post office layoffs, meaning the private sector added 102k jobs during the month.
- The unemployment rate in the construction sector dropped from 17% to 15.8% over the past few months, a hugely positive sign that the economy is picking up.
- Likewise the material moving and production sector unemployment rate dropped from 10.4% to 9.4%.
- Management & Professional sector unemployment has dropped from 4.2% to 3.6% which is considered full employment.
- The unemployment rate for teenagers dropped -.6% during the month.
- The Latino unemployment rate dropped from 9.6% to 9.2% during the month.
- The unemployment rate for college grads held steady at 3.8%, essentially full employment.
- High school level worker unemployment dropped from 7.9% to 7.6%.
- The number of long-term unemployed (over 27 weeks) dropped sharply by -186,000.
- The number of short-term unemployed (less than 5 weeks) dropped by -203,000.
- Government employment was down -14,000, including -12k post office layoffs, meaning the private sector added 102k jobs during the month.
- The unemployment rate in the construction sector dropped from 17% to 15.8% over the past few months, a hugely positive sign that the economy is picking up.
- Likewise the material moving and production sector unemployment rate dropped from 10.4% to 9.4%.
- Management & Professional sector unemployment has dropped from 4.2% to 3.6% which is considered full employment.
- The unemployment rate for teenagers dropped -.6% during the month.
- The Latino unemployment rate dropped from 9.6% to 9.2% during the month.
- The unemployment rate for college grads held steady at 3.8%, essentially full employment.
- High school level worker unemployment dropped from 7.9% to 7.6%.
- The number of long-term unemployed (over 27 weeks) dropped sharply by -186,000.
- The number of short-term unemployed (less than 5 weeks) dropped by -203,000.
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