First-Time Unemployment Claims in U.S. Rose by 2,000 to 393,000 Last Week
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans than forecast filed for unemployment benefits last week. Applications for jobless insurance increased 2,000 in the week ended Nov. 19 to 393,000, Labor Department figures showed. Economists forecast 390,000 claims according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Orders for durable goods fell 0.7 percent in October after a 1.5 percent revised drop the prior month, and consumer spending rose 0.1 percent for the month, the Commerce Department added. Betty Liu, Dominic Chu and Michael McKee report on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Christina Romer, former head of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers and a Bloomberg contributing editor, talks about the minutes of the Nov. 1-2 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee and the outlook for the economy and budget. Some Federal Reserve policy makers said the central bank should consider easing policy further, according to minutes of their meeting. Romer, speaks with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line." (Source: Bloomberg)
The number of claims for jobless benefits rose last week from a seven-month low, signaling the rate of firings has stabilized after slowing in recent weeks, figures from the U.S Labor Department showed today.
Applications for jobless insurance increased 2,000 in the week ended Nov. 19 to 393,000, according to figures released in Washington. Economists forecast 390,000 claims, the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey said. The number of people on unemployment insurance rolls rose and those receiving emergency benefits declined.
A sustained drop in firings is needed to set the stage for an acceleration in payroll growth and to maintain the pace of consumer spending, which accounts for the biggest part of the U.S. economy. An unemployment rate stuck near or above 9 percent for more than two years puts pressure on President Barack Obama, lawmakers and the Federal Reserve to foster job gains.
“Claims are below 400,000, but they’re not consistent with a booming job market,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “The labor market is taking small steps in the right direction. Businesses aren’t panicking by increasing layoffs. We’re only going to see a gradual increase in hiring in the next few months.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December fell 0.8 percent to 1,173.60 at 8:39 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.93 percent from 1.92 percent late yesterday.
Bloomberg Survey
Claims estimates ranged from 375,000 to 400,000 in the Bloomberg survey of 47 economists. The Labor Department revised the prior week’s figure to 391,000, the lowest since April, from an initially reported 388,000.
The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, dropped to 394,250, the lowest level since April, from 397,500.
The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits increased by 68,000 in the week ended Nov. 12 to 3.7 million. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of workers receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Those who’ve used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments fell by about 7,400 to 3.5 million in the week ended Nov. 5.
The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, held at 2.9 percent in the period ended Nov. 12, today’s report showed.
Forty-five states and territories reported a decrease in unadjusted claims, while eight had an increase.
Job Growth
Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- accelerates.
Some companies have added workers heading into the holiday shopping season, when some retailers bring in as much as 50 percent of their annual revenue.
“We have done a good job of hiring the people that we said we’re going to hire, and we continue to look for a few key jobs” in online sales, Laura Alber, chief executive officer of Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM), said in a Nov. 17 conference call with analysts.
To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net
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