Tag: jobless claims
Jobless Claims Drop As Economy Strengthens

Jobless Claims Drop As Economy Strengthens

By Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week, underscoring an improved labor market.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 from the previous week to 289,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists had expected claims for the week ended Dec. 13 to be 293,000, according to FactSet.

After a slow start to the year, the economy is now on pace to create the most new jobs since 1999. In November, the U.S. added 321,000 jobs, the largest gain in nearly three years.

Jobless claims now hover at 2000 levels.

The less-volatile four-week moving average for claims fell 750 to 298,750.

AFP Photo/Justin Sullivan

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Little-Changed

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Little-Changed

Washington (AFP) – New U.S. claims for unemployment insurance benefits were little-changed last week from the previous period, suggesting still only modest tightening in the jobs market so far this year.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, totaled 312,000 in the week ending June 21, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week.

The four-week moving average was slightly higher at 314,250, but sharply down from the average of 345,250 a year ago, a decline that has paralleled the sharp decline in the unemployment rate to 6.3 percent.

However, the still-high level of dropouts from the labor market, in addition to those officially unemployed, underpins official views that there remains a lot of slack in the labor force.

AFP Photo/Mark Wilson

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall

Washington (AFP) – New U.S. claims for unemployment insurance benefits fell last week, continuing to point to a downward trend in job losses, official data released Thursday showed.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 312,000 in the week ending June 14, following three straight weeks of gains. The previous week’s level was revised up to 318,000 from 317,000.

The number of new claims last week came in slightly below the consensus estimate of 313,000.

First-time claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, have been declining over the past year amid job growth that has picked up in recent months.

The four-week moving average, which smoothes weekly volatility, was 311,750, compared with a revised 315,500 the prior week. A year ago the moving average stood at 346,500.

For all people receiving unemployment insurance benefits, the four-week moving average tumbled by 21,750 to 2.58 million, the lowest level since early November 2007.

Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the fall in claims was a positive sign for the June labor market report due on July 3.

“The level of claims is nicely below the level that prevailed during the prior survey period, which suggests that the solid trend in job creation continued in June,” Lee said.

The unemployment rate is at a six-year low of 6.3 percent, and the economy added more than 200,000 jobs for the fourth straight month in May.

On Wednesday the Federal Reserve held its ultra-easy policy course steady, predicting “moderate” growth in the economy this year.

“Labor market indicators generally showed further improvement… and labor market conditions will continue to improve gradually,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a post-meeting statement.

AFP Photo/Frederic J. Brown

Economic Growth Slows To A Crawl In First Quarter

Economic Growth Slows To A Crawl In First Quarter

By Don Leem, Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The American economy barely grew in the first quarter as the harsh winter weather appears to have knocked business investment and other activity even harder than previously thought.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy expanded at a mere 0.1 percent annual pace in the first three months of the year, one of the weakest rates of growth in the nearly 5-year-old recovery.

The bigger-than-expected slowdown — analysts had forecast growth of about 1 percent on average — put a halt to the momentum that had built up last year. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, rose at a solid 3.4 percent annual rate in the second half of last year.

Economists, however, are expecting growth to turn back up in the current quarter and strengthen as the year progresses.

Even with the frigid weather affecting home-building and sales of cars earlier this year, Wednesday’s report showed consumer spending slowed only modestly from the fourth quarter, thanks to stronger outlays for healthcare and other services.

“As the weather has returned to seasonal norms, we have already seen a marked improvement in the monthly data for March, which suggests that there will be a big rebound in second-quarter GDP growth,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

After a long period of modest and choppy recovery, many analysts think the economy could see robust growth this year as government cutbacks and political turmoil have receded, and households are better positioned to spend more, with their debts pared down, credit a little more available and the housing and stock markets having added to their wealth.

Still, there are uncertainties, particularly related to business investment. Although home construction is likely to pick up speed, company spending for equipment, which fell in the first quarter, has continued to lag.

Moreover, the outlook for trade is hazy. China’s economic reforms remain bumpy, and geopolitical tensions have added to the risks of a global economy in which Europe is growing only modestly and developing economies have slowed.

In the end, much of what happens to American economic growth is likely to come down to jobs and incomes.

Like the broader economy, job growth weakened early in the winter, but now appears to be returning to the moderate pace of the last couple of years. The government’s jobs report for April will be released Friday.

Incomes are showing signs of picking up, but only slightly, as unemployment is still high and competition for jobs remains stiff.

“Nobody’s going to their bosses and saying, ‘Give me a raise or else!’” said Scott Hoyt, an analyst at Moody’s Analytics. “Because they’re petrified they’ll say, ‘Or else.’”

Photo: Samuel Huron via Flickr