Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop, Extending Annual July Volatility
By Lorraine Woellert - Jul 26, 2012 8:30 AM ET .
Fewer Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, extending the period of volatility typically seen in July.
Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 35,000 in the week ended July 21 to 353,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 380,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Changes in the annual auto plant shutdowns that occur this time of year have made it difficult to adjust the data for seasonal variations, the Labor Department has said.
Statistical noise aside, slowing economies in Europe and China, which have reduced global demand for goods, may continue to curb employment. The U.S. presidential election and a looming battle over tax cuts and government spending may also be making businesses reluctant to hire.
“I’m not sure we can see a clean number for another week or two yet,” Bob Baur, chief global economist at Principal Global Investors in Des Moines, Iowa, said before the report. “I look at the labor market and see it’s gradually healing, just healing very slowly. Businesses are reluctant to do anything.”
Estimates for first-time claims ranged from 365,000 to 400,000 in the Bloomberg News survey of 51 economists. The Labor Department revised the prior week’s figure to 388,000 from an initially reported 386,000.
The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of jobless claims, fell to 367,250, the lowest since March, from 376,000.
more@Bloomberg.com
DO SOMETHING!
| 