Filings for US jobless benefits dip
Print Edition
The number of people seeking US unemployment benefits dipped 2,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, evidence that layoffs are low and hiring likely will remain steady.
The Labor Department said yesterday that the less volatile four-week average rose 8,500 to 357,250. The average was driven up in recent weeks by spikes that reflected seasonal volatility around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The government struggles to account for seasonal hiring by retailers and other businesses and for temporary layoffs of school employees during the holidays.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They are at a level consistent with solid hiring.
The job market has risen recently. Employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs a month from August through November. That’s helped lower the jobless rate to a five-year low of 7 percent.
There have been other signs the economy is improving. Americans are more confident and spending more. And orders to US manufacturers jumped in November, evidence that businesses are spending more on factory-made items such as machinery, computers and electrical goods.
Not all the data have been positive: Income rose at a slower pace than spending last month. That means Americans saved less to spend more. And existing home sales have fallen for three straight months, held back by higher prices and mortgage rates.
Still, the US economy expanded at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the best growth in nearly two years.
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