Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Fell Last Week
By Alex Kowalski - Aug 4, 2011 8:30 AM ET .
Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Fell 1,000 David Maung/Bloomberg
A job seeker fills out a registration form at the HireLive management and sales job fair in San Diego.
Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., talks about U.S. consumer spending and the outlook for economic growth. Feroli, speaking with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack," also discusses gasoline prices. (Source: Bloomberg)
.Initial claims for unemployment insurance payments in the U.S. fell last week to a level that shows limited improvement in the labor market.
Applications for jobless benefits decreased 1,000 in the week ended July 30 to 400,000, the fewest in almost four months, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Economists forecast 405,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The four-week average also declined to the lowest level since April.
A further reduction in the pace of dismissals may be needed before companies gain the confidence to step up hiring, which has slowed in the past three months. Employers added 85,000 workers in July, economists project a Labor Department report to show tomorrow, failing to reduce a jobless rate that’s holding above 9 percent.
“Claims show some evidence of moving in the right direction, but we’re going to have to see them sustained below 400,000 before we can believe they’re sending a meaningful economic signal,” Carl Riccadonna, senior economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, said before the report.
The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls rose, while those getting extended payments fell, today’s figures showed.
Estimates for first-time claims ranged from 388,000 to 425,000 in the Bloomberg News survey of 47 economists. The Labor Department initially reported the prior week’s applications at 398,000.
The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of initial claims, dropped to 407,750 from 414,500. The average has declined for five straight weeks.
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