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New jobless claims fall in sign of labor gains
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The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, offering signs of a steady improvement in the labor market.
While the jobs picture is brightening a bit, factory activity in the United States appears to be losing momentum, with business spending on capital goods weakening and new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods falling last month.
Initial claims for state jobless benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, the Labor Department said yesterday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to rise to 330,000 last week.
The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, slipped 7,500 to 331,750.
A Labor Department analyst said no states had been estimated and there were no special factors influencing the report. However, he noted that adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations around this time of the year remained a challenge.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 1.2 percent in October.
It was the second month of declines after orders for these so-called core capital goods fell 1.4 percent in September. Economists polled by Reuters had expected this category to add 0.6 percent.
The unexpected drop in core capital goods orders suggested some ebbing in the manufacturing sector’s recently found strength. It could also be an indication that a 16-day partial government shutdown last month hurt business confidence.
At the same time, orders for durable goods — items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years — fell 2 percent, largely because demand for civilian and defense aircraft tumbled.
The weakness in core capital and durable goods orders is at odds with national factory surveys, which have shown strength in the manufacturing sector.
The tone of the durable goods report was generally mixed, with gains in new orders for primary metals, computer and electronic products, motor vehicles and electrical equipment, appliances and components.
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