Jobless claims edged down

05-28-2009 10:00

Jobless claims dropped last week but did not reach the previously multi-month low. The administration’s unemployment rolls increased again and reached the highest level so far, which was proved by the most recent figures. The report has improved next week’s outlook concerning the employment report of May. Analysts expected that easing job losses indicated to a recovery en general of the job market, but the latest figures implicate that moderating job losses are vulnerable and that employing new staff remains critical.

Initial jobless claims drop by 13.000

The first jobless claims, for the week that ended May 23, dropped to 623.000, while the previous week showed a corrected number of 636.000, according to the figures of the US Department of Labor.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims excludes the weekly fluctuations and this indicator dropped from the corrected number of 629.750 in the prior week to 626.750.

Wave of layoffs ending?

In the beginning of this month, first unemployment claims reached the lowest level in three months, which increased prospects for the job losses to end. The auto industry crisis resulted in major cost-cutting, which raised the number of jobless claims.
Nevertheless, unemployment claims dropped during the last few weeks and do not approach the record high of 640.000, reached in March.

Continuing claims climbed 110.000

The quantity of ongoing unemployment aid is gauged by the continuing claims indicator, which went up to a record high. The indicator rose by 110.000 to 6.788 million. This week, continuing claims rose for the 19th straight week. The administration will reveal its most recent employment report next week. More major layoffs are ahead in May, which will cause the unemployment gauge to increase.

Non-farm payrolls remain recessionary

The Labor Department stated in May that non-farm payrolls dropped by 539.000 in April. This resulted once again in levels pointing to a recession, despite that the layoffs eased in relation to the corrected number of 699.000 in March; the smallest decline versus October 2008.