WASHINGTON (AP) -- Newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits posted a sharp decline last week.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that claims for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 last week to 342,000. Economists had been expecting claims would rise by 3,000.
The four-week moving average for claims fell by 7,250 to 369,500. Even with the improvements, analysts are still worried that the weak economy is putting greater pressures on the labor market. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.1% in March as businesses laid off the largest number of workers in five years.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Article from CNN-Money on Small Business Hiring, growth
Surprise rise in private-sector jobs
Survey from payroll services firm ADP shows increase in the number of jobs created last month.
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: April 2, 2008: 11:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a surprising flash of good news for the U.S. economy, businesses added jobs in March, according to a survey of private sector employers released Wednesday.
Payroll services firm ADP's employment report showed an increase of 8,000 private sector jobs last month. Economists were expecting a decline of 45,000 private sector jobs, according to Briefing.com.
The report showed a revised loss of 18,000 jobs in February, which was the first decline in the two years ADP has been tracking employment data.
"This is an unexpected piece of constructive news," said Bob Brusca, an economist at FAO Economics. "It suggests that the job market isn't getting unequivocally worse."
However, while the report showed the job market expanding overall, certain underlying trends remain intact.
The service sector added 85,000 jobs, while the goods-producing sector cut 77,000 jobs in March - the 16th consecutive monthly decline.
Small-sized businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, added 55,000 jobs in March. Large businesses, on the other hand, cut 52,000 jobs.
The increase in small business jobs is not surprising, according to Molly Brogan, a spokeswoman for the National Small Business Association.
"When you're looking at an economic downturn, starting your own business becomes a more viable option," she said.
Brogan thinks a "large chunk" of the 55,000 jobs added in the small-business segment came from workers exiting large businesses. Moreover, the survey counts business operated by individuals as small businesses, which could also account for the large increase.
Meanwhile, residential construction businesses cut 22,000 jobs in March - the 16th straight month of decline - as the turmoil in the housing market continued to batter homebuilders.
Employment in the financial services sector was flat.
Earlier Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that March layoff notices fell by 26% to 53,579 from February. But that still puts the number of announced cuts 9% above year-earlier levels.
Both reports come ahead of Friday's closely watched employment report from the Labor Department, which includes private and public sector jobs data. Economists are forecasting a decline of 50,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate is expected to increase to 5% from 4.8% in February.
Brusca said the ADP report could indicate that Friday's report will show a smaller-than-expected decline, or possibly an increase in employment.
First Published: April 2, 2008: 8:30 AM EDT
Survey from payroll services firm ADP shows increase in the number of jobs created last month.
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: April 2, 2008: 11:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a surprising flash of good news for the U.S. economy, businesses added jobs in March, according to a survey of private sector employers released Wednesday.
Payroll services firm ADP's employment report showed an increase of 8,000 private sector jobs last month. Economists were expecting a decline of 45,000 private sector jobs, according to Briefing.com.
The report showed a revised loss of 18,000 jobs in February, which was the first decline in the two years ADP has been tracking employment data.
"This is an unexpected piece of constructive news," said Bob Brusca, an economist at FAO Economics. "It suggests that the job market isn't getting unequivocally worse."
However, while the report showed the job market expanding overall, certain underlying trends remain intact.
The service sector added 85,000 jobs, while the goods-producing sector cut 77,000 jobs in March - the 16th consecutive monthly decline.
Small-sized businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, added 55,000 jobs in March. Large businesses, on the other hand, cut 52,000 jobs.
The increase in small business jobs is not surprising, according to Molly Brogan, a spokeswoman for the National Small Business Association.
"When you're looking at an economic downturn, starting your own business becomes a more viable option," she said.
Brogan thinks a "large chunk" of the 55,000 jobs added in the small-business segment came from workers exiting large businesses. Moreover, the survey counts business operated by individuals as small businesses, which could also account for the large increase.
Meanwhile, residential construction businesses cut 22,000 jobs in March - the 16th straight month of decline - as the turmoil in the housing market continued to batter homebuilders.
Employment in the financial services sector was flat.
Earlier Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that March layoff notices fell by 26% to 53,579 from February. But that still puts the number of announced cuts 9% above year-earlier levels.
Both reports come ahead of Friday's closely watched employment report from the Labor Department, which includes private and public sector jobs data. Economists are forecasting a decline of 50,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate is expected to increase to 5% from 4.8% in February.
Brusca said the ADP report could indicate that Friday's report will show a smaller-than-expected decline, or possibly an increase in employment.
First Published: April 2, 2008: 8:30 AM EDT
Friday, April 4, 2008
Economy loses 80,000 jobs
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. employers slashed jobs on their payrolls for the third straight month in March and unemployment rose to a nearly three-year high, offering the latest signs that the economy has fallen into a recession.
The Labor Department's much anticipated report showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs in the month, marking the longest period of decline since early 2003.
February's loss was revised to 76,000 jobs. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that payrolls would fall by 50,000 in the latest reading.
The job losses in both January and February were revised sharply higher, adding an additional 67,000 job losses to the previous readings. The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has shed 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.
The job losses were widespread, with the battered construction sector losing 51,000 jobs and manufacturing employment falling by 48,000. But there were also losses in key service sector industries. Retail employment dropped by 12,000 jobs, and business and professional service employers cut staff by 35,000.
The unemployment rate jumped from the 4.8% reading in February to 5.1%, the highest level since May 2005. Economists had forecast that unemployment would rise to 5%.
The unemployment rate is based on a separate survey of households, rather than the employer survey that produces the closely watched payroll number.
The household survey gave an even grimmer view of the job losses in the economy, with the number of Americans saying they were unemployed soaring by 434,000, the biggest jump in that reading since October 2001, right after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The job outlook will be a key factor influencing interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve when it meets on April 29 and 30.
Earlier this week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made his bleakest and bluntest assessment on the economy's condition. The central bank chief told a joint Congressional committee that a recession is possible in the first half of this year.
The Labor Department's much anticipated report showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs in the month, marking the longest period of decline since early 2003.
February's loss was revised to 76,000 jobs. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that payrolls would fall by 50,000 in the latest reading.
The job losses in both January and February were revised sharply higher, adding an additional 67,000 job losses to the previous readings. The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has shed 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.
The job losses were widespread, with the battered construction sector losing 51,000 jobs and manufacturing employment falling by 48,000. But there were also losses in key service sector industries. Retail employment dropped by 12,000 jobs, and business and professional service employers cut staff by 35,000.
The unemployment rate jumped from the 4.8% reading in February to 5.1%, the highest level since May 2005. Economists had forecast that unemployment would rise to 5%.
The unemployment rate is based on a separate survey of households, rather than the employer survey that produces the closely watched payroll number.
The household survey gave an even grimmer view of the job losses in the economy, with the number of Americans saying they were unemployed soaring by 434,000, the biggest jump in that reading since October 2001, right after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The job outlook will be a key factor influencing interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve when it meets on April 29 and 30.
Earlier this week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made his bleakest and bluntest assessment on the economy's condition. The central bank chief told a joint Congressional committee that a recession is possible in the first half of this year.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Jobless claims: Highest since '05
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims surged in the latest week to the highest level since September 2005, according to a government report released Thursday.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose to 407,000 in the week ended March 29, up from a revised 369,000 claims in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 365,000 from the originally reported 366,000.
"There has been a slow deterioration in the labor market," Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust, said. "We're starting to see a speed-up in this deterioration," he added.
The surge in jobless claims comes a day before the government's closely watched March employment report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect that report to show a decline of 50,000 jobs.
The job market has suffered from the deepening economic slump. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a "recession is possible," and that the economy could contract over the first half of the year.
The Labor Department said over the past four weeks, a running average of 374,500 people filed new claims per week, up 4.4% from the previous week's revised average of 358,750. In the year-ago period, the average was at 311,750.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits rose to 2.9 million in the week ended March 22, the most recent week available. That's up from a revised 2.8 million reported for the prior week, matching the four-week average.
New jobless claims in Pennsylvania increased the most in the week ended March 22, the report showed. Michigan saw the biggest drop, with first-time claims falling 7,660 due to fewer layoffs in the automotive industry.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose to 407,000 in the week ended March 29, up from a revised 369,000 claims in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 365,000 from the originally reported 366,000.
"There has been a slow deterioration in the labor market," Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust, said. "We're starting to see a speed-up in this deterioration," he added.
The surge in jobless claims comes a day before the government's closely watched March employment report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect that report to show a decline of 50,000 jobs.
The job market has suffered from the deepening economic slump. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a "recession is possible," and that the economy could contract over the first half of the year.
The Labor Department said over the past four weeks, a running average of 374,500 people filed new claims per week, up 4.4% from the previous week's revised average of 358,750. In the year-ago period, the average was at 311,750.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits rose to 2.9 million in the week ended March 22, the most recent week available. That's up from a revised 2.8 million reported for the prior week, matching the four-week average.
New jobless claims in Pennsylvania increased the most in the week ended March 22, the report showed. Michigan saw the biggest drop, with first-time claims falling 7,660 due to fewer layoffs in the automotive industry.
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