WASHINGTON—The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for
unemployment benefits dropped for the first time in four weeks, a
renewed yet seasonally tempered sign of job gains following March's
weakness in the labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a measure of layoffs, decreased by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 in the week ending April 6, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the biggest weekly drop since November. Economists had expected 360,000 new applications.
The weekly figures are often volatile in the spring because of the shifting date of Easter each year and related school breaks. Cafeteria workers and bus drivers, for example, often file claims on a temporary basis during school vacations. A Labor Department economist said the data is difficult to adjust seasonally as a result.
It may take several more weeks for the claims data to be free of seasonal distortions, but the figures may still be reflective of an improving jobs market, some economists said.
"It is an encouraging sign for the labor market that the latest decline in claims undid most of the deterioration in the data reported over the previous few weeks," said Daniel Silver, an economist with J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -0.61% & Co.
Last week's figure is close to the four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility. The moving-average figure last week rose by 3,000, to 358,000. Economists generally believe that when claims are below 400,000, the labor market is growing.
Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist with High Frequency Economics, said the seasonal-adjustment issues mean that the spike "appears to have been a false alarm."
"The report should assuage some of the concerns raised by last week's weaker-than-expected data, particularly payrolls," Mr. Sullivan said.
Employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment ticked down to 7.6%, according to a Labor Department report last week.
Some economists say that payrolls in the coming months will continue to be weak because federal government spending cuts, known as the sequester, may be squeezing the economy.
In a separate Labor report Thursday, prices for goods imported into the U.S. fell last month, largely because oil costs retreated.
The latest data suggest energy prices are unlikely to be a sustained source of inflation—a welcome signal for Federal Reserve policy makers, who have more leeway to continue stimulus measures if prices remain in check.
Overall prices of imported goods decreased 0.5% last month from February, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey had expected a 0.6% decline for the month.
March prices for petroleum imports declined 1.9%, and are down more than 10% from a year earlier. Those decreases appear to be making it to the consumer level.
The average price for a gallon of gasoline fell during March and continued to slide early this month, according to Energy Information Administration data. The agency said Wednesday that it expects pump prices during the summer travel season to be lower than a year ago.
SOURCE : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324695104578416363323808272.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Initial jobless claims, a measure of layoffs, decreased by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 in the week ending April 6, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the biggest weekly drop since November. Economists had expected 360,000 new applications.
The weekly figures are often volatile in the spring because of the shifting date of Easter each year and related school breaks. Cafeteria workers and bus drivers, for example, often file claims on a temporary basis during school vacations. A Labor Department economist said the data is difficult to adjust seasonally as a result.
It may take several more weeks for the claims data to be free of seasonal distortions, but the figures may still be reflective of an improving jobs market, some economists said.
"It is an encouraging sign for the labor market that the latest decline in claims undid most of the deterioration in the data reported over the previous few weeks," said Daniel Silver, an economist with J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -0.61% & Co.
Last week's figure is close to the four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility. The moving-average figure last week rose by 3,000, to 358,000. Economists generally believe that when claims are below 400,000, the labor market is growing.
Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist with High Frequency Economics, said the seasonal-adjustment issues mean that the spike "appears to have been a false alarm."
"The report should assuage some of the concerns raised by last week's weaker-than-expected data, particularly payrolls," Mr. Sullivan said.
Employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment ticked down to 7.6%, according to a Labor Department report last week.
Some economists say that payrolls in the coming months will continue to be weak because federal government spending cuts, known as the sequester, may be squeezing the economy.
In a separate Labor report Thursday, prices for goods imported into the U.S. fell last month, largely because oil costs retreated.
The latest data suggest energy prices are unlikely to be a sustained source of inflation—a welcome signal for Federal Reserve policy makers, who have more leeway to continue stimulus measures if prices remain in check.
Overall prices of imported goods decreased 0.5% last month from February, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey had expected a 0.6% decline for the month.
March prices for petroleum imports declined 1.9%, and are down more than 10% from a year earlier. Those decreases appear to be making it to the consumer level.
The average price for a gallon of gasoline fell during March and continued to slide early this month, according to Energy Information Administration data. The agency said Wednesday that it expects pump prices during the summer travel season to be lower than a year ago.
SOURCE : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324695104578416363323808272.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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