Jobless claims jump in warning sign for labor market

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/us-usa-economy-jobless-
idUSBRE94F0IR20130516

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits climbed last week at the fastest pace in six months, a worrisome
sign for the economy which has been hit by government austerity.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped by 32,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 360,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That
was the biggest jump since November and confounded analysts' expectations
for a more modest increase.

Claims for the prior week were revised to show 5,000 more applications
received than previously reported.

A Labor Department analyst said no states had estimated their data, and
that there were no signs furloughs for government employees played a
significant role in last week's increase in claims.

The U.S. economy has shown signs that growth slowed late in the first
quarter and in April as an austerity drive by the federal government
weighed on consumers and businesses. Washington hiked taxes in January and
initiated sweeping budget cuts in March.

Data on jobless claims has been a relative bright spot in the U.S. labor
market, and analysts will be cautious over reading too deeply into one
week of dour data, which showed claims at their highest since late March.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better gauge of job market
trends, remains near its lowest levels since the start of the 2007-09
recession. Last week, the moving average rose 1,250 to 339,250.

Many analysts have noted that a reticence by employers to lay off workers
has made an outsized contribution to recent improvements in employment
levels.

Last month, employers on net added 165,000 new jobs to their payrolls
while the unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low at 7.5 percent.

The improvement in employment has contrasted sharply with other data,
including retail sales and manufacturing, that have suggested a modest
cooling in the economy at the end of the first quarter that persisted
early in the April-June period.

The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits
under regular state programs after an initial week of aid dropped 4,000 to
about 3 million in the week ended May 4.


--
Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.

Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.

Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.

Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptness.

Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
insurance premiums 200% and leaves millions without health care.

Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.

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