Jobless claims numbers, leading indicators disappoint
More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, adding to concern the labor market is slackening.
Jobless claims decreased by 3,000 in the week ended Sept. 15 to 382,000, Labor Department figures showed Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 375,000.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, climbed to 377,750 last week from 375,750.
The report showed the number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 332,000 in the week ended Sept. 8 to 3.27 million.
The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Those who’ve used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments decreased by about 60,700 to 2.16 million in the week ended Sept. 1.
Another report that measures U.S. economic activity declined in August for the second time in three months, suggesting the economy remains weak.
The Conference Board says its index of leading indicators, designed to forecast future economic activity, dipped 0.1 percent in August after rising 0.5 percent in July and dropping 0.5 percent in June.
The weakness in August came from declines in manufacturing orders, consumer confidence and average weekly manufacturing hours. Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein says the index depicts an economy still facing significant domestic and international weakness.
The overall economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.7 percent in the April-June quarter. Many economists believe growth will stay weak in the second half of this year.
