More apply for jobless benefits in US
Source: Agencies |
January 11, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WEEKLY filings for US unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, the latest sign of stability in the job market.
The Labor Department said yesterday that applications rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the most in five weeks. The previous week's total was revised lower.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 6,750 to 365,750, after falling to a four-year low the previous week.
A department spokesman says all states reported data and none were estimated. In the previous two weeks, the department relied heavily on estimates because many states weren't able to report data over the holidays.
The figures "continue to suggest steady but modest US employment gains," Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients. "That said, claims stubbornly refuse to break below the ... range that has been in place for the past year."
Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have fluctuated for most of the past 12 months between 360,000 and 390,000. At the same time, job growth has been stable.
Employers added 155,000 jobs in December, the department said last week, while the jobless rate remained 7.8 percent. The gain in hiring nearly matched the average of 153,000 jobs per month in 2011 and 2012. That's just been enough to slowly push down the jobless rate, which fell 0.7 percentage points in 2012.
December's steady job gain suggests employers didn't cut back on hiring in the midst of the debate over the tax and spending changes known as the fiscal cliff. Many economists feared that the prospect of higher taxes and steep cuts in federal spending would cause a slowdown in job gains. That's a good sign, since more budget showdowns are likely.
The Labor Department said yesterday that applications rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the most in five weeks. The previous week's total was revised lower.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 6,750 to 365,750, after falling to a four-year low the previous week.
A department spokesman says all states reported data and none were estimated. In the previous two weeks, the department relied heavily on estimates because many states weren't able to report data over the holidays.
The figures "continue to suggest steady but modest US employment gains," Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients. "That said, claims stubbornly refuse to break below the ... range that has been in place for the past year."
Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have fluctuated for most of the past 12 months between 360,000 and 390,000. At the same time, job growth has been stable.
Employers added 155,000 jobs in December, the department said last week, while the jobless rate remained 7.8 percent. The gain in hiring nearly matched the average of 153,000 jobs per month in 2011 and 2012. That's just been enough to slowly push down the jobless rate, which fell 0.7 percentage points in 2012.
December's steady job gain suggests employers didn't cut back on hiring in the midst of the debate over the tax and spending changes known as the fiscal cliff. Many economists feared that the prospect of higher taxes and steep cuts in federal spending would cause a slowdown in job gains. That's a good sign, since more budget showdowns are likely.
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