Unemployment news for Kenosha County is as bleak as the outlook offered by the Ghost of Christmas Future.

Local and state data show that, compared to a year earlier:

— Unemployment claims jumped 84 percent as of Dec. 6.

— The number of people unemployed rose 19 percent as of October.

— The public assistance caseload increased 11 percent as of Dec. 1.

— Job listings for the year through November fell 21 percent.

The Scrooge-like economy is to blame, said John Milisauskas, county Job Center manager. Part of the cause, however, is tied to a court decision that increased the number of benefit recipients and how fast payments are paid, he said.

The economy also has hurt job listings, down from 5,203 for the year through November 2007 to 4,119 for the same period this year. A change in the state’s job listing system cut the figure too, Milisauskas said.

The number of public assistance, or economic support, cases handled by the county Division of Workforce Development began breaking records in April. The caseload was 12,275 in March, climbing to 13,666 as of Dec. 1, an increase of 1,386, or 11 percent, compared to a year earlier.

Part of that number is food shares, or what used to be called food stamps, up 24 percent as of Dec. 1. Cases of medical assistance shot up 9 percent for the same period.

Adelene Greene, division director, said the caseload explosion has delayed how quickly the county is able to notify residents who qualify for assistance. While the number of staff handling the applications has hovered steadily around 31 full-time equivalents, the application increase has delayed the turnaround from about seven days to between 14 and 30 days, she said.

Emergency situations are handled as quickly as possible, she said. “But other cases have to sit a little longer,” she said.

Overtime and other funds of some $34,000 helped pay for handling the additional applications as well as for covering duties of up to five vacancies, she said. But that account went dry last week.

More applications means less money to go around. Greene said a budget deficit for Wisconsin Works, or W-2, which pays recipients for community service work, education and training, is expected to be $231,200 by year end.

The division asked the state in October to send more money for the program but there has been no definitive answer yet, Greene said. County officials are waiting for a state response before determining whether they might have local money to offer, she said.