I had no idea that those bell ringers were paid until I heard a story on NPR. For some reason I just thought they did it pro bono style.

Makes them seem less charitable and more just a guilt tax when you leave a supermarket

I always assumed the bell ringers were people doing community service for drunk driving.

Slam Bradley: I had no idea that those bell ringers were paid until I heard a story on NPR. For some reason I just thought they did it pro bono style.

Makes them seem less charitable and more just a guilt tax when you leave a supermarket

I worked in Walmart during college and saw one of them use money from the bucket to buy lunch.

Probably not:

First-time filings for claims fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000 in the week ended Dec. 17.

Jobless claims will go back up after the Holidays when the seasonal help jobs end and people start looking for work again.

Just means more people quit looking for work, there is no adjustment for that. Or more found part time work

At some point, I think people who keep their jobs through tough times just get tired of it and decide to no longer participate in the recession, and that, more than anything, is what drives the recovery.

Arkanaut: Probably not:

First-time filings for claims fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000 in the week ended Dec. 17.

And three months from now they'll adjust it up to 450,000.

Slam Bradley: I had no idea that those bell ringers were paid until I heard a story on NPR. For some reason I just thought they did it pro bono style.

Makes them seem less charitable and more just a guilt tax when you leave a supermarket

God forbid some needy person be paid minimim wage for standing in the cold for hours and actually working to solicite donations from overly selfrighteous pricks. How dare they!

lwpengy: Just means more people quit looking for work, there is no adjustment for that. Or more found part time work

While that is a real problem, that isn't what this number means. This number says people are not filing for first time unemployment at the rates they were previously. In other words, layoffs are slowing. A good sign by any measure. If you really want to try and pull a negative out of it, could chalk it up to most companies having already cut staff to the bone as evidenced by record worker productivity. So, there is no room left to trim staff.

Pumpernickel bread: lwpengy: Just means more people quit looking for work, there is no adjustment for that. Or more found part time work

While that is a real problem, that isn't what this number means. This number says people are not filing for first time unemployment at the rates they were previously. In other words, layoffs are slowing. A good sign by any measure. If you really want to try and pull a negative out of it, could chalk it up to most companies having already cut staff to the bone as evidenced by record worker productivity. So, there is no room left to trim staff.

I wouldn't call it a negative; I'd call it what it is: basic math. There is absolutely nothing positive about it.

The end.

I'm not sure why the average American worker's expectations for the economy would be anything but negative when they collectively shoot themselves in the foot by working for free all the time.

DrPainMD: Arkanaut: Probably not:

First-time filings for claims fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000 in the week ended Dec. 17.

And three months from now they'll adjust it up to 450,000.


you mean like how we keep having to revise them down because it turns out they were better then we thought?

Finally Obama can say things are only as bad as they were in the bottom of the Bush administration.

usernameguy: You guys know that these statistics are adjusted for seasonal affects, right?

Don't confuse them with facts.

Rev. Creflo Baller: At some point, I think people who keep their jobs through tough times just get tired of it and decide to no longer participate in the recession, and that, more than anything, is what drives the recovery.

Maybe the rebelling at work and an uptick in consumer spending are correlated.

Nemo's Brother: I worked in Walmart during college and saw one of them use money from the bucket to buy lunch.

The kettles are locked and have an opening so small, it would take hours to shake enough coins out of it to buy lunch.

Well, you know, there's really no point in submitting a claim when there's nothing left under your name because you've exhausted your benefits, but hey, it makes the numbers look good.

Aren't they the ones that refuse to hire gays and can't be held accountable for it?

/maybe I'm thinking of another group
//too lazy to check