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This interesting information comes from Barry Ritholz, The Big Picture:

Continuing Claims “Exhaustion Rate”

Posted: 22 Jun 2009 07:00 AM PDT

Last week, we saw Continuing Claims decrease — proof, said the green shooters, of the imminent economic recovery.

Only, not so much:

Those of you (who can still afford the luxury of) a trusty Bloomberg will note the ‘exhaustion rate’ for jobless benefits – EXHTRATE – reveals that people are not leaving the pool of continuing unemployment claims because they are getting new jobs; Rather, they are leaving because they have exhausted their benefits.

They are now unemployed AND broke. That is hardly a green shoot . . .

Exhaustion Rate: U.S. Workers Losing Unemployment Aid

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Hat tip Bill King

The above chart shows the percentage of unemployed who have exhausted their benefits. The following chart, also from the Big Picture, shows the number of people who have this unfortunate experience:

Unemployment Benefit Exhaustions
Regular State UI Final Payments, Data from 1972 to 2009

This is one additional bit of evidence that we are not in a “normal” recession and that more people than ever are suffering greatly from the excesses of Wall Street. Yet, we the taxpayers and our Congressmen and our Administration all continue to treat Wall Street as though it were necessary to our wellbeing. Will they ever acknowledge that the excesses of the investment bankers, fueled by their own government-authorized protector, the Federal Reserve Bank, are responsible for our sorry plight and that MAJOR reform is needed? At present, there is no sign of such an awakening.