Experts: Increased hiring won't reduce unemployment rate

WASHINGTON - Companies are laying off fewer workers and advertising more job openings, two encouraging signs that arrived a day before the government issues the September jobs report.

But economists say employers aren't ramping up hiring fast enough to reduce the unemployment rate, now 9.6 percent. Some economists expect the rate to top 10 percent by early next year.

Companies at least aren't laying off so many workers. Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits for the fourth time in five weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday.

A separate report showed job openings rose in August for the second-straight month. Private-sector employers advertised the most number of available jobs since November 2008, the report said. But the increases aren't enough to turn the job market around anytime soon, economists said.

"The data that we're seeing is still consistent with a very slow jobs recovery," said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Meyer forecasts that the economy will generate about 50,000 jobs a month for the next six months. That isn't enough to keep up with population growth, much less absorb the nearly 15 million unemployed.

In the meantime, applications for jobless aid are falling. They dropped by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 445,000 last week, the Labor Department said. It's the lowest level since the week ending July 10 and down from 504,000 initial claims in mid-August - the high point for the year.

Weekly unemployment applications have rarely fallen below 450,000 this year, and never for longer than two weeks. Economists say a sustained drop below 425,000 would signal employers are stepping up hiring. The department also said job openings rose in August for the second-straight month to 3.2 million. Private-sector openings increased to their highest level in 21 months. - AP