Unemployment claims remain above levels associated with a strong job market recovery.

Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWire) -- 11/08/2010 -- While new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected when the latest government numbers were released on October 21, 2010, was it anything to celebrate?

According to an article in The New York Times that same day, ‘claims still remain perched above levels usually associated with a strong job market recovery.’ The article goes on to state the four-week average of new jobless claims fell by 4,250 claims to 458,000.

But as financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen explains in his blog and his monthly economic newsletter Moving Markets™, consideration should also be given to the number of individuals entering (or attempting to enter) the job market for the first time.

Tubbergen is CEO of USA Wealth Management, LLC, a federally registered investment advisory company. Tubbergen has long claimed that unemployment in the U.S. is closely tied to other worrisome economic issues, such as the housing market. According to Tubbergen, economists have been stating for the past several years that it takes the creation of about 150,000 new jobs a month just to break even with population growth.

Tubbergen points to a Bloomberg Businessweek.com article posted online July 15, 2010 in which Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland in College Park, is quoted as saying, “To make a dent in the unemployment rate, you need to go over 150,000,” in new jobs per month.

To throw a few more statistics into this unpleasant mix, the current measure of unemployment is known as U3. U6 and SGS are two other measures worth noting that are not often used. U6 includes those who are unemployed, as well as those who have not looked for a job in the last 4 weeks but have in the last year. SGS is a measure of unemployment that includes long-term discouraged workers in addition to those already defined. While this definition and figure was removed from official existence by the government in 1994, it is still presently estimated by economist John Williams of Shadow Government statistics.

“According to data published by Williams on July 2, 2010, the U6 unemployment rate was over 16 percent,” states Tubbergen. “And the SGS unemployment figure was just shy of 22 percent.”

With some 4.04 million people in the U.S. still on the unemployment rosters as of the week ending October 2, 2010, a recovery is hard to come by.

For more information on Dennis Tubbergen’s views, visit http://www.dennistubbergen.com.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee. Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.