Rise In Jobless Claims Boosts Fed Easing Expectations

From MSNMoney.com:

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits rose last week, hardening the view the central bank will pump more money into the economy, and keeping pressure on Democrats poised to lose congressional seats in November 2 polls.

At the same time, record-high imports from China helped push the U.S. trade deficit wider in August, while rising food and energy prices pushed inflation at the wholesale level up twice as fast as expected last month.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a higher-than-expected 462,000 in the latest week, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected initial claims at 445,000 in the latest week.

"These numbers don't fall out of the range of expectations, so they don't move the needle too much," said Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmede Investment and Wealth Management in Philadelphia.

Read the full article on MSNMoney.com here.

Jobless Claims Hit Half A Million

In a disappointing turn of events, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits hit half a million last week. The represents the highest unemployment numbers since November of 2009. This also marks the third week in a row claims have increased, which is a major disappointment to those who thought the economy was recovering.

"These numbers are important because they indicate the rate of growth in the economy is weakening and that the rate for growth is now insufficient to stop unemployment from rising," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics.

The latest jobless claims numbers, released by the Labor Department today, mark the third straight week that they've risen. In a healthy economy, jobless claims usually drop below 400,000. Right now, they've risen to 500,000.

In Washington, the grim numbers prompted a statement from President Obama.

"This morning's news that unemployment claims rose again compels us to act," he said this morning, touting a plan to promote hiring by small business.

Continue reading at ABCNews.com…

Jobless Claims in U.S. Declined by 11,000 to 457,000

Last week the number of first-time jobless claims dropped by 11,000 putting the total at 457,000. Although this may be a good sign, the number of people still receiving unemployment benefits rose, which many expects claim is slowing the pace of economic growth.

“The underlying pace of claims has not made any measurable improvement,” said Ellen Zentner, senior U.S. macro economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “Businesses are investing in equipment but other than that there’s little impetus” for them to hire, she said.

Economists forecast claims would fall to 460,000, from a previously reported 464,000 for the prior week, according to the median of 42 projections in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from 445,000 to 500,000.

Stocks rose as companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. posted better-than-estimated earnings. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 1,108.67 at 10:28 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3 percent from 2.99 percent late yesterday.

Four-Week Average

The four-week moving average of claims, a less-volatile measure, dropped to 452,500 last week, the lowest since May 8, from 457,000, today’s report showed.

The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose to 4.565 million in the week ended July 17, from 4.484 million the prior week.

Unemployment Falls In 34 States

The U.S. Labor Department made an exciting announcement yesterday morning. According to Federal data the unemployment fell in 34 states – and the District of Columbia – last month. Jobless rates did increase in a few states, and 10 states reported no change.

That compares to last month's gloomy state unemployment report, showing that 24 states suffered jobless rate hikes in March, and rates only eased in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Annually, the state unemployment landscape is still grim, but getting better, Friday's report showed. Jobless rates rose in 38 states and the District of Columbia from a year earlier. But that's down from a total of 44 states and D.C. reporting rising rates in March.

Last month, the Labor Department's latest national report showed the U.S. economy gained 290,000 jobs in April, the biggest gain in four years. But the unemployment rate crept higher, to 9.9% from 9.7% in the previous month.

Continue reading at CNN.com…

New Jobless Claims Drop By 11,000

It seems like there have been plenty of new reports regarding the economy, and yesterday it was reported that Americans filed 11,000 less jobless claims last week than the week before.

Although this is good news, the national unemployment is still at 9.7%, and an estimated 448,000 Americans out of work. Check out the following story from Washington Post regarding the new jobless reports.

Continuing unemployment claims last week rose slightly to 4.66 million, up from 4.64 million the previous week.

The four-week moving average on new jobless claims, which smoothes out volatility in the data, rose 1,500 to 462,500. This bump up is so small as to be nearly statistically insignificant. If the four-week moving average begins to flatten and then eventually turn downward, the economy will get closer to creating new jobs.

Forecasters expected last week's number to come in at 448,000.

The official U.S. unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. The April number will be released next Friday and forecasters expect the number to remain unchanged. Economists say that the unemployment rate will stay near 10 percent through the end of the year.

Generally, economists say that new job growth can't begin until the new jobless claims number gets down into the low 400,000s or upper 300,000s and stays there. This time last week, the economy was shedding 700,000 new jobs per week. And though the number is much better this year, the weekly jobless claims number remains stubbornly stuck in the mid-400,000s.