Finding a new job becomes harder as layoffs mount

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioHc80xKMiATnqCpK0cDKJzk_nPQD95J9IN08

By JEANNINE AVERSA – 2 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of laid-off workers who are continuing to draw unemployment checks jumped more than expected to 4.6 million at the end of December and is likely to keep climbing this year — fresh evidence that people are finding it increasingly difficult to get a new job amid a deepening recession.

The Labor Department's report Thursday also said first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped to 467,000 last week. But economists largely described that decline as a distortion, reflecting the government's difficulty in making seasonal adjustments over the holiday period. Even with the dip, the figure still signaled trouble in the labor market. A year ago, initial claims stood at 330,000.

Persistent economic woes — housing, credit and financial crises — along with a flurry of layoffs announcements in the opening days of 2009 all point to another terrible year for jobseekers, economists said.

Job hunter Barbara Slavin of Los Angeles knows that frustration.

"Many of the jobs I applied for I was qualified for and didn't get them," laments Slavin, 67, who was laid off last month as an executive assistant for a local Girl Scouts chapter. "I've got a lot of energy. I like to work, and I don't know anybody who can live on Social Security alone."

She has worked a variety of places over the years, including a catering kitchen, a corporate newsletter and a software company.

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