U.S. Jobless Claims Rose to Highest Since June
By Timothy R. Homan and Bob Willis - Sep 15, 2011 8:53 AM ET .
.Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level since the end of June, underscoring the risk of further weakness in the labor market.
Jobless claims climbed by 11,000 to 428,000 in the week ended Sept. 10 that included the Labor Day holiday, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a drop in claims to 411,000, according to the median forecast.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Cisco Systems Inc. are among companies planning to keep trimming payrolls, raising the risk that consumer spending will stagnate. Signs the labor market is struggling to gain traction puts more pressure on President Barack Obama, lawmakers and the Federal Reserve for additional steps to spur the economy.
“Job growth is moving sideways, which is problematic,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “We really need the labor market to improve to generate the wages to support consumer spending.”
Weeks that include federal holidays typically show a decrease in unadjusted claims because there’s one less day to file. During the latest week, filings failed to drop as much as expected, resulting in a higher figure after seasonal adjustment, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data were released. He also said there wasn’t any effect on claims from Hurricane Irene.
Bloomberg.com
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