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US jobless claims fall after big increase in the previous week
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 07 - 02 - 2008


The number of newly laid off U.S.
workers filing applications for unemployment benefits
dropped last week, but not enough to indicate that strains
on the labor market are easing, according to The Associated Press.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that 356,000 claims
for jobless benefits were filed last week, a decline of
22,000 from the previous week. The decline only erased a
part of the huge jump of 72,000 in claims of the previous
week.
The four-week average for jobless claims rose to 335,000,
which was the highest level in a month.
A severe slowdown in economic growth that has raised
concerns about a possible recession has begun to affect the
labor market. The government reported last week that the
economy shed 17,000 jobs in January, the first monthly job
loss in more than four years.
Analysts said the performance of claims in the past two
weeks showed that a surprising decline in claims from
mid-December to mid-January was a statistical fluke caused
by difficulty in adjusting the numbers around holidays and
the start of the year. They predicted further increases in
jobless claims in coming weeks as more companies are forced
to lay off employees.
«In this environment, simply cutting back on hiring will
not be enough for companies to maintain earnings as demand
slows. Jobs will have to be cut too,» said Ian
Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency
Economics.
In other economic news, America's retailers reported weak
sales in January. The disappointing sales figures, which
followed a lackluster holiday season, showed that consumers
are cutting back in the face of high gasoline and food
prices, a slumping housing market and a severe credit
crisis.
Sales at 43 retailers surveyed by the UBS-International
Council of Shopping Centers rose just 0.5 percent in
January, well below the original 1.5 percent forecast.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose by
46.90 points to close at 12,247.00 as investors put aside
their worries about the economy to go bargain-hunting after
three straight days of stock losses.
Many economists believe that the current quarter will be
the maximum danger point for the economy to slip into a
recession, which would be the first downturn since 2001.
Those fears were increased on Tuesday when the Institute
for Supply Management reported a startling contraction in
the service sector, triggering a 370-point drop that day in
the Dow Jones industrial average.
On Wednesday, Macy's department stores announced that the
company was cutting 2,300 jobs, adding to worries that the
current economic slowdown is spreading.
The Senate passed an economic rescue plan Thursday that
would speed $600 (¤412) to $1,200 (¤824) in rebates to most
taxpayers after Democrats dropped their demand that the
proposal offer jobless benefits and heating aid for the
poor. House leaders said they would act quickly to approve
the changes made to their original measure so that it can
be sent to the president for his signature. The goal is to
boost consumer spending to combat the economic
sluggishness.
The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic
product, slowed to an anemic growth rate of just 0.6
percent in the final three months of last year. Some
economists believe the GDP will turn negative in the
current quarter. One common definition of a recession is
two consecutive quarterly declines in the GDP.
For the week ending Jan. 26, 43 states and territories
reported a decrease in claims while nine reported
increases.
The biggest drop was in Michigan, a fall of 7,546 that was
attributed to fewer layoffs in all industries. The biggest
increase for the week of Jan. 26 occurred in Wisconsin, a
jump of 2,335 claims applications, an increase that was
blamed on higher layoffs in construction, trade,
transportation, warehousing and manufacturing industries.


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