Jobless claims nip up, but fall long-term
Doug Harms, of Carrolton, Texas, center, stands in a large crowd of jobless Texans at a career fair in Plano, Texas. Unemployment claims nipped up this past week although the four-week average shows fewer applications. (Aug. 15, 2011) Credit: AP
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose above 400,000 last week. Still, the four-week average, a more reliable gauge of the job market, fell to the lowest level since mid-April.
The report on weekly unemployment applications does provide some positive signs for hiring in August. Applications are lower than they were in mid-July, when they totaled 422,000. Still, the report suggests that the economy is creating jobs but not nearly enough to lower the high unemployment rate.
Weekly applications rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 408,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level in four weeks. Applications have been above 400,000 for 18 of the past 19 weeks.
The four-week average dropped for the seventh straight week to 402,500.
Still, applications typically must fall below 375,000 to signal healthy job growth. The last time they were that low was in late February.
Two weeks ago, applications dropped to 399,000. That was the first time they had fallen below 400,000 since early April.
Separately, the Labor Department said consumers paid more for gas, food and clothes last month, pushing prices up by the most since the spring.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5 percent in July, following a drop of 0.2 percent in June. Gas prices accounted for much of the swing. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 0.2 percent.
Thursday's report covers the week in which the Labor Department asks companies about their payrolls for its August report on hiring. The drop from last month suggests slightly more jobs were added this month.
Employers added 117,000 net jobs in July, roughly double the totals from each of the previous two months. The unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1 percent.
Other recent data show the economy gradually improved in July, after growing at annual rate of just 0.8 percent in the first six months of the year.
Consumers spent more on retail goods in July than in any month since March. And factory output rose in July by the most since the Japan crisis, a sign that supply chain disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake could be fading.
Still, July's job gains are barely enough to keep up with population growth. At least double that many new jobs are needed to significantly reduce unemployment.
