New Claims for Unemployment Aid Reach 484K

Last week, claims for unemployment benefits rose to the highest point in over 5 months. Although a drop was anticipated, instead claims rose by 2,000.

Read more from the Forbes.com story below.

New applications for unemployment insurance rose last week to their highest level in almost six months, a sign that employers are still cutting their staffs.

The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000. Analysts had expected a drop. That's the highest total since the week of Feb. 20.

Initial claims have now risen in three of the last four weeks and are close to their high point for the year of 490,000, reached in late January. The four-week average, which smooths volatility, soared by 14,250 to 473,500, also the highest since late February.

The total number of people receiving benefits dropped 118,000 to 4.45 million, the department said.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall More Than Forecast to One-Month Low

According to new reports, the number of applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell again last week, leading to a one-month low. There were 440,000 claims during the week that ended on February 6^th, which represented a 43,000 decrease from the week prior. The total number of people receiving extended benefits also decreased, according to the Labor Department. Economists point to these numbers as a sign that companies are firing fewer workers, and that business recovery is starting to take place.

The fastest pace of growth in six years last quarter means the economy may be poised to add jobs as companies restock shelves to keep pace with increased sales. The Obama administration today projected payrolls will grow by 95,000 a month on average this year, indicating it will take a long time to recover the 8.4 million jobs lost since the recession began.

“Healing is under way, but this process will take time,” said Raymond Stone, managing director of Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Skillman, New Jersey, who correctly forecast the drop in claims. “We are moving in the right direction and I think we will see some job growth” in coming months.

Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as disappointment that European leaders didn’t provide specific solutions to solve the Greece’s debt crisis offset the drop in claims. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,071.82 at 11:36 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities fell.

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Initial Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise

From Yahoo Finance:

A surprising jump in first-time claims for unemployment benefits is a painful reminder that jobs remain scarce six months into the economic recovery.

The increase deflated hopes among some analysts that the economy would produce a net gain in jobs in January.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000. Wall Street economists expected a small drop, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average, which smoothes fluctuations, rose for the first time since August, to 448,250.

A Labor Department analyst said that much of the increase last week was due to administrative backlogs leftover from the winter holidays in the state agencies that process the claims.