Economists right about unemployment

Unfortunately, the economists have been right.

Almost all of them have predicted unemployment would continue to get worse, even if the overall economy starts to bottom out and then turn around.

Well today, there are two more examples of a very sour labor market.

Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate jumped to 9.6 percent in May, up six-tenths of a percentage point from April, the state Labor Department reported today.

The rate nearly matches the state’s unemployment rate, which jumped to 9.7 percent in May, the highest rate ever recorded in Georgia.

Meanwhile, the number of people filing new jobless claims nationally jumped unexpectedly last week, and the total unemployment benefit rolls rose to more than 6.7 million.

The Labor Department data released Thursday show jobs remain scarce even as the economy shows some signs of recovering from the longest recession since World War II, the Associated Press reported.

The department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists expected a drop to 600,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

But while the weekly prediction was off, economists have been right about the general upward trend in the unemployment rate. Many see double digits soon.

Too bad.