Unemployment Claims on the Rise

Jobless Claims Increase, By Sarah N. Lynch and Jeff Bater, July 22, 2010, Wall Street Journal: “The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week by more than expected, reversing declines posted the prior week and signaling there is still little improvement in job market conditions. In its weekly report Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 37,000 to 464,000 in the week ended July 17. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would rise by 21,000. The disappointing report comes just one day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers that the U.S. economic outlook was “somewhat weaker,” although he signaled there are no immediate plans for a shift in the Fed’s policy. The previous week’s level of claims was revised only slightly downward, from 429,000 to 427,000. The four-week moving average — which aims to give a better idea of the trend by smoothing volatility in the data — went up by 1,250 to 456,000 in the week ended July 17. The prior week’s average was revised to 454,750.
Claims lasting more than one week, meanwhile, dropped…”