U.S. unemployment claims fell last week to 382,000
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week to a seasonally adjusted 382,000. The level suggests hiring remains weak.
The Labor Department said Thursday that applications declined by 3,000 from the previous week, which was revised up. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the fifth straight week to 377,750, the highest level in nearly three months.
Applications were skewed higher two weeks ago by the fallout from Hurricane Isaac. A Labor Department spokesman said there were no special factors last week.
Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they consistently fall below 375,000, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Employers added only 96,000 jobs last month, below the 141,000 in July and much lower than the average 226,000 added in the first three months of the year. Recent job gains are barely enough to keep up with the growth of the working age population and aren't enough to rapidly drive down unemployment.
"Businesses clearly remain reluctant to aggressively boost their workforces," said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in a note to clients.
The unemployment rate dropped in August to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent. But that was only because fewer people were looking for jobs. The government only counts people as unemployment if they are actively looking for work.
The number of people receiving unemployment aid fell sharply earlier this month. About 5.2 million people received benefits the week ending September 1, the most recent data available. That's a drop of about 220,000 from the previous week.
The economy isn't growing fast enough to support much more hiring. It grew at a tepid 1.7 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, down from 2 percent in the January-March quarter and 4.1 percent in the final three months of last year.
Growth isn't likely to get much better for the rest of this year. Economists expect the economy to grow at a roughly 2 percent pace.
High unemployment and sluggish growth prompted the Federal Reserve last week to announce several major steps to boost the economy. Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities a month until there is "substantial" improvement in the job market.
The Labor Department said Thursday that applications declined by 3,000 from the previous week, which was revised up. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the fifth straight week to 377,750, the highest level in nearly three months.
Applications were skewed higher two weeks ago by the fallout from Hurricane Isaac. A Labor Department spokesman said there were no special factors last week.
Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they consistently fall below 375,000, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Employers added only 96,000 jobs last month, below the 141,000 in July and much lower than the average 226,000 added in the first three months of the year. Recent job gains are barely enough to keep up with the growth of the working age population and aren't enough to rapidly drive down unemployment.
"Businesses clearly remain reluctant to aggressively boost their workforces," said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in a note to clients.
The unemployment rate dropped in August to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent. But that was only because fewer people were looking for jobs. The government only counts people as unemployment if they are actively looking for work.
The number of people receiving unemployment aid fell sharply earlier this month. About 5.2 million people received benefits the week ending September 1, the most recent data available. That's a drop of about 220,000 from the previous week.
The economy isn't growing fast enough to support much more hiring. It grew at a tepid 1.7 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, down from 2 percent in the January-March quarter and 4.1 percent in the final three months of last year.
Growth isn't likely to get much better for the rest of this year. Economists expect the economy to grow at a roughly 2 percent pace.
High unemployment and sluggish growth prompted the Federal Reserve last week to announce several major steps to boost the economy. Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities a month until there is "substantial" improvement in the job market.
It is time for the media to better state what the BLS does with these numbers each week. They come out with a number and in every week, they revise them upward without any announcement. So last week, the first time unemployment was at 382,000 and then it was revised upward to 385,000. Then they announce a 3,000 decrease this week because it was 382,000 again. Therefore, it was really flat! Once again, the BLS will revise upward and it will be unannounced and then they will show another decrease next week. Enough of the spin. Time to tell the truth, jobs are stagnant now. People are dropping out of the labor pool and therefore artifically lowering the unemployment number. Stop trying to pretend there is some sort of recovery beginning and instead accurately state what is really going on with the economy and unemployment.
More than likely the drop in unemployment applications was more from those who have run out of unemployment benefits. . Most employers are still waiting and seeing on what the economy is going to do and in the mean time are reluctant to hire permanent workers with the fifty-fifty chance of laying them off a few months later down the road. The temp agencies and staffing agencies are doing really well in this kind of environment. Take a look at most of the listings on Worksource and at least half of them are from staffing and temp agencies. Unfortunately the workers are getting the short end of the deal with no benefits, no paid holidays, and no job prospects of a long-term job.
These are first time applications, not people who have been on unemployment for long periods of time. The first time unemployment applications have been holding steady for many months, not counting weeks with holidays that skew the reporting (they get revised heavily upward by the following week.) The steadiness in the first time applications is more likely the result of businesses cutting staff to the maximum extent. You are correct, long-term job prospects are not getting better in the near term and most jobs in the near-term are going to be seasonal temporary ones for Christmas. This administration's BLS will show improvement in the U3 number, but you will see an increase in the U6 number where the long-term unemployed (those that have lost benefits) and those who are taking part-time jobs are counted.