Fewer people sought unemployment aid last week

Posted by Calvin Lee Ledsome Sr.,
Owner and Founder of: https://economicnewsblog.wordpress.com and http://LedSomeBioMetrics.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and employers may be hiring more workers.

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of people seeking benefits dropped 10,000 to 382,000 in the week ending April 2. That’s the third drop in four weeks.

The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, declined to 389,500. The average is just 1,000 above a two-year low that was reached three weeks ago.

Applications near 375,000 are consistent with a sustained increase in hiring. Applications, which reflect the pace of layoffs, peaked during the recession at 659,000.

The number of people seeking benefits has fallen for several months. The four-week average has dropped by 28,750, or nearly 7 percent, in the past eight weeks. At the same time, companies are adding more employees.

Employers added a net total of 216,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said last week, and the unemployment rate fell from 8.9 percent to 8.8 percent. Private employers added more than 200,000 jobs in both February and March, the biggest two-month gain since 2006.

“Businesses are hiring, perhaps not at lightning speed, but they are hiring,” Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said. “And the jobless rate is inching lower. We’re nowhere near ‘normal’ but we’re taking steps in the right direction.”

Still, the number of applications could move higher in the coming weeks. Toyota Motor Corp. has said that it may temporarily shut down its North American plants later this month. That’s because of a shortage of parts from Japan, where the earthquake and tsunami have disrupted production. Other auto companies may also suspend production, which could cause temporary layoffs and a spike in applications for unemployment benefits.

Unemployed will continue to be paid in the event of a federal government shutdown, a Labor Department spokesman said. The benefit programs are administered by the states. If federal employees are temporarily laid off, they will apply for benefits from a separate program, the spokesman said.

The number of people collecting benefits also dropped. The total dipped slightly to 3.7 million during the week ending March 19, one week behind the applications data. That’s the lowest total since October 2008. But that doesn’t include millions of people receiving aid under the emergency unemployment benefit programs put in place during the recession.

Overall, 8.5 million people received unemployment benefits in the week ending March 19, the latest data available. That’s down sharply from the previous week, when nearly 8.8 million people collected benefits.

More hiring is needed to bring down the unemployment rate at a faster pace. The economy still has about 7.2 million fewer jobs than it did when the recession began in December 2007.

Many companies are stepping up hiring this year. McDonald’s Corp. said earlier this week that it will hold its first national hiring day April 19 as part of its efforts to fill 50,000 job openings.

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Fewer people sought unemployment aid last week

Associated Press
Posted by Calvin Lee Ledsome Sr.,
Owner and Founder of: https://economicnewsblog.wordpress.com and http://LedSomeBioMetrics.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and companies may be stepping up hiring.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking benefits dipped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 for the week that ended March 26. That’s the second decline in three weeks.

Applications near 375,000 or below are consistent with a sustained increase in hiring. Applications peaked during the recession at 659,000.

The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose to 394,250. Still, that figure has dropped by 35,500, or 8 percent, in the past eight weeks.

“The downtrend … is undeniable,” Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Financial Inc., said. “We believe that this improvement will continue in the weeks and months ahead.”

The department also revised the previous five years of data. The changes showed that applications in recent weeks were moderately higher than previously reported.

As applications have fallen, hiring has started to pick up. Economists forecast that employers added a net total of 185,000 jobs in March. That would be just below February’s gain of 192,000 — the most jobs added in nearly a year. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.9 percent.

The March data will be released Friday.

Still, hiring must rise by about 300,000 per month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, economists say. The economy has gained more than a million jobs in the past year but still has 7.5 million fewer jobs than before the recession.

The number of people collecting benefits also dropped. It fell by 51,000 to 3.7 million in the week ending March 19, the latest data available. That’s the lowest figure since October 2008. But that doesn’t include millions of people receiving aid under the emergency unemployment benefit programs put in place during the recession.

All told, 8.8 million people received unemployment benefits in the week ending March 12, the latest data available. That’s slightly higher than the previous week.

There have been other positive reports about jobs and hiring this week.

More than half of the largest U.S. companies plan to step up hiring in the next six months, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable, released Wednesday. That’s the highest proportion of the group’s members that plan to add workers since the quarterly survey began in 2002. The Roundtable represents the CEOs of roughly 200 of the largest U.S. companies.

And the Conference Board said more job openings were posted online in March. The number of postings rose by 208,800, or nearly 5 percent, to 4.45 million. Job openings have increased by 600,000 in the first three months of this year. The Conference Board is a nonprofit business research group.

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The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week

More people sought unemployment aid last week
Associated Press
Article Posted by Calvin Lee Ledsome Sr.,

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, only the second increase in six weeks.

The Labor Department says applications rose by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000 during the week ended March 5. The rise comes after applications fell to their lowest level in nearly three years in the previous week.

The latest report covers the week after the Presidents’ Day holiday, when many government offices were closed. Applications usually rise in weeks following holiday-shortened weeks. Most economists expect applications will continue to decline as the economy improves.

Applications below 425,000 signal modest job growth. But they need to fall consistently below 375,000 to signal a decline in the unemployment rate. Unemployment benefit applications peaked during the recession at 651,000.
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Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 – Near 3-year low

Unemployment aid requests fall to near 3-year low
March 3, 2011, 8:48 a.m. EST
Associated Press
Article Posted by Calvin Lee Ledsome Sr.,

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people requesting unemployment benefits last week plunged to a nearly three-year low, bolstering likelihood that companies will increase the pace of hiring this year.

Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the third decline in the last four weeks. Applications are now at their lowest level since May 2008.

The four-week average for applications, a less volatile figure, fell last week to 388,500. That’s the lowest level since July 2008, the last time the four-week average was below 400,000.

Economists say applications that remain consistently below 375,000 tend to signal declines in the unemployment rate. Applications for benefits peaked during the recession at 651,000.

The downward trend in applications suggests that companies are easing the pace of layoffs now that the economy is gaining momentum. During the recession, companies slashed work forces, cut or froze workers’ pay and took other aggressive steps to reduce costs.

Companies are expected to increase hiring in the month ahead.

Employers probably added 175,000 new jobs in February, economists predict. That would mark an improvement from an anemic 36,000 in January when snowstorms and bad weather hurt job gains. The government releases the employment report for February on Friday.

At the same time, economists think the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1 percent in February as more jobseekers — perhaps feeling better about their prospects — stream into the labor market looking for work.

Stronger job creation is needed to steadily reduce unemployment. The economy needs to produce at least 200,000 a month on a consistent basis for that to happen.

Thursday’s report also showed the number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped to 3.77 million, the lowest level since mid-October 2008.

That doesn’t include millions of people enrolled in emergency unemployment benefit programs funded by the federal government. Another 4.5 million unemployed workers received benefits under the extended programs during the ending Feb. 12, the latest data available. Altogether, 9.2 million people were on the benefit rolls that week.
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