Jobless?

Jobless claims rise- The warning from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office came on top of more bad economic data that heightened concerns about a return to recession and sent markets roiling. It could also spell trouble for the future market. From Reuters. The CBO forecast the U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.342 trillion this year, down slightly from its March projection of $1.368 trillion. It attributed most of the $27 billion change in its fiscal 2010 deficit projection to an estimated $50 billion reduction in the cost of TARP, the U.S. government's bailout of financial institutions in 2009. But the figures show that without significant changes in U.S. tax and spending laws, the government will struggle to dig its way out of a deep fiscal deficit hole. Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf painted a picture of a tough recovery from recession, although the CBO predicted a 3 percent economic growth rate this year. "The considerable number of vacant houses and underused factories and offices will be a continuing drag on residential construction and business investment, and slow income growth as well as lost wealth will restrain consumer spending," he said. The unemployment rate will not fall to around 5 percent until 2014, Elmendorf said. The last time the jobless rate was 5 percent was April 2008, just as the economy was heading into recession and unemployment was on the rise.