Nearly 5 million Americans drawing jobless benefits

From Reuters:

Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:43pm EST
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment aid jumped to a record high of nearly 5 million, the government said on Thursday, as a worsening economy made it increasingly hard to find jobs.

The data from early February suggested the 13-month-old U.S. recession was deepening, a conclusion supported by a report that showed factory activity in the country's Mid-Atlantic region contracted sharply in February.

"The data indicates an accelerated deterioration ... jobs are being lost and the pool of unemployed is growing faster," said Kevin Logan, senior U.S. economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York. "People cannot find jobs."

Read the rest here


And then read between the lines.






I dont know about you, but ive never collected Unemployment, even having been out of work for months, and im sure im not the only one, either the principled, proud, or foolish, many Americans can just not see themselves asking for a handout, when they just need a hand up.

Certain classes of contractors, in addition, and just as an example, are never eligible for unemployment benefits, and people who quit, for almost any reason, are unable to collect benefits, even if they are still eligible, or may not know if they are eligible. Add to this, the growing number of unemployment cases that are disputed (for whatever reason) by employers, many of which wont be pursued by the employees after the initial battle, even if they are eligible for the welfare program, and you will probably notice that 5 million isnt even the tip of the unemployment iceberg, no, dear sirs and maams, thats just the cost of the federal entitlement program, at an average of $292 a week, per person. (source: CNN)

Thats over 600 billion dollars a month, with no sign of slowing down soon.