Weekly Jobless Claims Fall But Come In Above Estimates

(RTTNews) - Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on weekly jobless claims in the week ended September 6th, showing that jobless claims decreased compared the revised reading for the previous week but came in above economist estimates.

The report showed that jobless claims fell to 445,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 451,000. Economists had expected claims to fall to 440,000 from the 444,000 originally reported for the previous week.

At the same time, the Labor Department said that the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 440,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 439,750.

The report also showed that continuing claims in the week ended August 30 rose to 3.525 million from the preceding week’s revised level of 3.403 million.

With weekly jobless claims coming in above economist estimates, the report may add to concerns about the labor market despite the decrease compared to the previous week.

Last Friday, the Labor Department released its report on the employment situation in the month of August, showing that employment fell for the eighth consecutive month, helping to lift the unemployment rate to its highest level in almost five years.

The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 84,000 jobs in August following a revised decrease of 60,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected a decrease of about 75,000 jobs compared to the decrease of 51,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

In addition to the upward revision in job losses for the month of July, the job losses for June were revised up to 100,000 from the previously reported 51,000.

With employment falling for the eighth consecutive month, the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 6.1 percent in August from 5.7 percent in July. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

The unexpected jump in the unemployment rate lifted it to its highest level since a matching reading in September of 2003. The unemployment rate has not been higher since it reached 6.2 percent in July of 2003.

The continued weakness in the labor market has raised some concerns about the outlook for the broader economy, as consumers are less likely to make discretionary purchases if they are worried about losing their jobs.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Forex, Releases, USA.