Jobless Claims --
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that’s consistent with little improvement in the labor market.
Initial jobless claims declined by 23,000 to 452,000 in the week ended Oct. 15, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The prior week’s figures were revised up by 13,000, to the highest level since late August.
The pace of firings has persisted since the start of the year, indicating it will take longer to reduce an unemployment rate that’s near a 26-year high. A Federal Reserve report yesterday showed the economy is growing at a “modest pace” with companies still hesitant to hire, a reason central bankers may ease monetary policy.
Claims are “still consistent with a sluggish labor market,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York. “We’ve been stuck in a range for most of the year. It doesn’t tell you that the layoff trend has improved dramatically this year.”
Leading Indicators and Manufacturing Index --
The index of U.S. leading indicators rose in September for the third straight month, signaling the recovery will extend into 2011.
The 0.3% increase in the New York-based Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months matched the median forecast of 57 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report showed the number of claims for jobless benefits fell last week to a level consistent with little improvement in the labor market.
Gains in consumer spending, business investment and exports may keep the world’s largest economy afloat even as housing remains depressed. At the same time, growth will probably not be strong enough to reduce unemployment, underscoring why some Federal Reserve policy makers have said additional stimulus may be needed.
“We’re clearly on an expansion path,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. “But we’re still short of a normal recovery. The economy is not growing fast enough to put all those millions of unemployed people back to work.”
Manufacturing in the Philadelphia Fed region expanded this month for the first time since July as factory payrolls grew, a report from the branch of the central bank also showed today. The general economic index rose to 1 from minus 0.7 in September. Figures greater than zero signal growth.
