US jobless claims rise from threemonth low
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rebounded from a three-month low last week, but remained below a level consistent with a tightening labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended July 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 241,000. It was the 125th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at 4.4 percent. Claims have been volatile in recent weeks as automakers shut assembly plants for annual retooling. Some manufacturers like General Motors are extending their summer shutdowns to manage excess inventory from declining sales. Economists say this could be throwing off the model used by the government to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data, causing swings in the weekly numbers. A Labor Department official said there were no special factors influencing the claims data and that no states had been estimated. READ MORE
ARTICLE SOURCE – BUSINESS STANDARD