More Job Losses

[dollardaze]

About 8% of Dow Corning's work force will be cut during the first half of this year. That's 800 more people that will be out of work globally.

Tween Brands is also reporting that a new round of layoffs is being planned due to a fourth quarter loss. The company is planning to eliminate 85 jobs, with 49 of those coming from layoffs. This latest reduction of jobs comes after the 150 jobs that were already eliminated in August.

As far as unemployment, the number of workers who are receiving unemployment benefits has hit an all time high of almost 5 million. New unemployment claims are higher than any seen since the early 1980's.

The Labor Department reported that people receiving regular unemployment benefits rose to 4.99 million. This is in comparison to the 2.77 million getting those benefits a year ago. If the number of people who are getting extended benefits are included, those numbers rise to 6.54 million.