Jobless claims ‘unexpectedly’ fall, Stock futures slip
Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market may keep improving after employment picked up in July, reports Bloomberg.
Great Depression Unemployment Line
The Bloomberg report state “Jobless claims unexpectedly dropped by 6,000 to 361,000 in the week ended August 4, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for an increase to 370,000. A spokesman for the agency said there was nothing unusual in the data.
U.S. stock futures slipped Thursday as some weakness in European markets and signs of further slowing in China put investors in a cautious mood ahead of jobless claims data.
About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gave up 15 points, or 0.1%, to 13105. The Dow rose 7 points, or 0.1%, on Wednesday to close at a three-month high and stretch its win streak to four sessions.
Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index futures eased 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1395 and Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged at 2707. Changes in stock futures don’t always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.
“The labor market is slowly but steadily improving despite all the uncertainty created by the European financial problems, the election and the fiscal cliff,” Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “There is no reason to think that job payroll increase posted in July cannot be duplicated in the months to come.”
The employment report for July showed employers added 163,000 workers last month, the biggest gain since February, according to the Labor Department’s establishment survey released last week. A separate poll of households showed the jobless rate climbed to a five-month high of 8.3 percent.
