AlHijjah 27, 1432, Nov 23, 2011, SPA -- Orders for U.S. manufactured items fell for a second consecutive month in October, the government reported Wednesday. While much of the weakness came from a big drop in demand for commercial aircraft, a key category that tracks business investment spending fell by the biggest amount since January. A second report showed a rise in jobless claims. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods-expensive manufactured goods expected to last at least three years-fell 0.7 percent last month following a 1.5 percent drop in September. Orders for core capital goods-considered a good gauge of business investment spending-fell 1.8 percent. The drop in core capital goods was expected to be a temporary setback, however, as the category has been surging this year, sparked by tax breaks that encourage business spending. In October, orders for transportation products fell 4.8 percent, reflecting a 16.4 percent drop in demand for commercial airplanes. Boeing received only 7 orders for aircraft, down from 59 in September. Orders for autos jumped 6.2 percent, reflecting solid sales gains in recent months. Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders rose 0.7 percent, reflecting increases in categories like primary metals and heavy machinery. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week after two months of steady declines, but the increase is not sufficient to reverse the downward trend, as the four-week average of jobless claims-a less volatile measure-fell to its lowest level since April, signaling that companies are laying off fewer workers. Jobless claims rose 2,000 to 393,000 last week, the second increase in the past six weeks. The four-week average fell to 394,250, the eighth decline in the past nine weeks. Despite the trend of declining jobless claims, weekly applications need to consistentlystay below 375,000 to lower the unemployment rate. They have not been at that level since February.
