Posted on 02/14/2013 6:19:25 AM PST by John W
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to a continued steady improvement in labor market conditions.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 360,000.
A Labor Department analyst said claims for Illinois and snowstorm-hit Connecticut had been estimated. Nevertheless, because most claims are filed online, the blizzard that slammed the East Coast appeared to have little effect on the broader claims data, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
the more people drop out of the labor force, the better the obaconomy looks!
O happy days
Forget how many are unemployed- how many are employed?
Now if only the greedy rich would pick up their fair share of slack and pay those taxes that nonoworkers don’t pay
The headline from another source:
Initial Claims Plunge As Department Of Labor “Estimates” Claims For Illinois, Conn.
A line from the subject article, titled “Jobless claims drop exceeds expectations”:
A Labor Department analyst said claims for Illinois and snowstorm-hit Connecticut had been estimated.
The bias is readlily apparent in the headlines. One praises the regime; the other questions it.
this is why you look at the 4 week moving average which is 352,500. Kast time the 4 week MA was at this level was March 2008.
“Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 360,000.”
They would never err on the side of caution...or dare I say OVERESTIMATE so that things would SEEM better.
Increase in applications for ObamaPhones,EBT cards and SSDI exceeds expectations.
“The prior week’s claims figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. “
Initial unemployment insurance claims fell by 27,000, to 341,000, in the week ended 9 February. The four-week moving average ticked up 1,500, to 352,500.
- Initial unemployment insurance claims dropped by 27,000, to 341,000, in the week ended 9 February. On a not-seasonally adjusted basis, claims fell by 29,014, to 359,428.
- The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure of unemployment claims, rose to 352,500. The four-week moving average has been hovering near its lowest levels since March 2008.
- Continuing benefits programs reported 138,000 fewer claimants in the week ended 2 February, bringing the total down to 3.6 million. Regular benefits typically last for a period of 26 weeks; claimants are required to check in weekly to provide updates on their job search to receive compensation.
- Emergency unemployment compensation (EUC), which immediately follows the exhaustion of regular benefits, was provided to 2.08-million people in the week ended 26 January—an increase of 255,258, which nearly cancels out the previous week’s drop.
This week’s drop in jobless claims exceeded expectations. Indeed, claims seem to be following a definite downward trend. However, in the wake of Winter Storm Nemo, it is hard to become optimistic about jobless claims’ effect on the February employment report. The survey period for the employment report overlaps with the aftermath of the blizzard, and thus reflects a pay week in which many Americans in the Northeast would not have been able to work.
The four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility in weekly jobless claims, has been hovering near its lowest levels since March 2008—an encouraging sign. However, the recovery is still gathering momentum. The four-week moving average is down only 20,000 from a year ago. Meanwhile, the January unemployment rate edged up to 7.9%. According to the January NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, more small firms are planning to hire.
The recent changes seen in emergency unemployment compensation and extended benefits data may reflect the effects of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. These programs had been slated to expire at the end of December, but were extended until the end of 2013 as part of the fiscal-cliff agreement. Continuing claims and initial claims were not affected by the fiscal-cliff deal. The only programs threatened by the cliff were those serving people who had been receiving unemployment benefits for upwards of 26 weeks.
January payroll employment was nothing special, at 157,000. Since the recent blizzard likely put a damper on February payroll employment growth, we expect the next report to come in between 125,000–150,000.
Excuse me if the newest dazzling data from the “Ministry of Truth” doesn’t impress me.
-— Oh, joy! Happy days are here again ping ——
There’s so much good news, I’m getting tired of celebrating.
I’d prefer a job, though.
Your job IS to celebrate, comrade. Another piece of cake, perhaps?
Once any “adjustment” is made in a survey, the scientific validity of a truly random sample is destroyed.
Apparently the definition of a valid random sample has changed since I graduated from college.
EODGUY
how many were added to disability?””””
That & Illinois & Connecticut were ESTIMATES!!!!
“how many were added to disability?”
BINGO. The new gold mine is here.
60% for the fraudsters and
40% for the fraudulent lawyers
-100% for the Amerikan taxpayer
Seeing that this is the initial claims number, your question is largely irrelevant.
Oh, there's a lot of that stuff across the landscape today.
Why do you think so few people see that the Emperor has no clothes?
Thank the educational establishment for that. Their main goal for many, many years has been the successful development and implementation of the "New Soviet Man", not the education and development of fresh young minds.
By the time the SHTF, an increasing number of people will start to see, slowly in more cases than not, that, education-wise, they've been sold a bill of goods. However, since their logic and problem-solving neural pathways have been stunted by lack of development in the formative years, their response to this growing insight is likely to be violence, egged on by a culture that festers in the politics of envy.
This is why I fear war is inevitable, and that, as things continue to go South, we'll be experiencing a quickening of that day's approach. This is why the Communists, uh Fascists, uh, I mean, Democrats are pushing so mightily for gun control now.
No matter how you view it, as Tom Cullen in "The Stand" so eloquently put it, "M-O-O-N, that spells trouble!"
CA....
We have been adding over 300,000 a month to the unemployment lines for years, sooner or later we have to start running out people to add. That’s 4 million a year. This country should be ashamed of those numbers.
I did read it incorrectly, that was 2012. In December, 2012, there were about 461,000 jobs more than there were in January, 2009.
not surprising. there’s been an uptick in part timers as their hours get cut and they get hired on at second jobs.
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