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US jobless claimants hit highest since June
Source: Agencies |
September 16, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
NEW claims for jobless benefits in the United States last week hit the highest level since late June.
However, industrial production edged up 0.2 percent last month as a solid auto-related gain in manufacturing helped offset a drop in utility output.
Peter Kenny, managing director of financial service firm Knight Capital, said the slew of data yesterday was bad but not "apocalyptic." Other analysts agreed.
Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: "Business activity has slowed and confidence has fallen, but we have not slipped into a recession yet."
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid rose unexpectedly to 428,000 in the week ended last Saturday from a revised 417,000 in the previous week, the US Labor Department said yesterday.
This took initial claims to their highest level since the third week in June. Wall Street analysts expected a modest dip.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said its general business conditions index fell to minus 8.82 in September from minus 7.72 the previous month - the fourth straight month that factory activity has contracted.
Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to unveil new measures to lift growth. Despite dim prospects of a 9.1 percent unemployment rate declining soon, many Fed watchers expect a relatively modest step to try to bring down long-term interest rates without ramping up dollar printing.
Also yesterday, the Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent last month, after rising 0.5 percent in July. The reading was higher than analysts' forecasts of 0.2 percent, with food prices posting their biggest gain since March.
Given limited pricing power for producers as consumers grapple with high unemployment, inflation is expected to recede. The core index in August was depressed by auto costs - unchanged for the second straight month. New car prices rose sharply in May following the earthquake in Japan that disrupted global supply chains.
Analysts now put the odds of a new US recession at nearly one-in-three after recent reports showed no employment growth in August and a plunge in consumer confidence.
However, industrial production edged up 0.2 percent last month as a solid auto-related gain in manufacturing helped offset a drop in utility output.
Peter Kenny, managing director of financial service firm Knight Capital, said the slew of data yesterday was bad but not "apocalyptic." Other analysts agreed.
Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: "Business activity has slowed and confidence has fallen, but we have not slipped into a recession yet."
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid rose unexpectedly to 428,000 in the week ended last Saturday from a revised 417,000 in the previous week, the US Labor Department said yesterday.
This took initial claims to their highest level since the third week in June. Wall Street analysts expected a modest dip.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said its general business conditions index fell to minus 8.82 in September from minus 7.72 the previous month - the fourth straight month that factory activity has contracted.
Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to unveil new measures to lift growth. Despite dim prospects of a 9.1 percent unemployment rate declining soon, many Fed watchers expect a relatively modest step to try to bring down long-term interest rates without ramping up dollar printing.
Also yesterday, the Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent last month, after rising 0.5 percent in July. The reading was higher than analysts' forecasts of 0.2 percent, with food prices posting their biggest gain since March.
Given limited pricing power for producers as consumers grapple with high unemployment, inflation is expected to recede. The core index in August was depressed by auto costs - unchanged for the second straight month. New car prices rose sharply in May following the earthquake in Japan that disrupted global supply chains.
Analysts now put the odds of a new US recession at nearly one-in-three after recent reports showed no employment growth in August and a plunge in consumer confidence.
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