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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance climbed unexpectedly last week.
There were 473,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Feb. 13, up 31,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 442,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected claims to slide to 438,000.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims, which levels out volatility, was 467,000, down 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 469,000.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – The government’s monthly job report on Friday showed that the disastrous labor situation plaguing the nation’s economy is moderating. But the report also underlines an unsettling reality: 8.4 million jobs have been vaporized since the recession began, and digging out won’t be easy.
The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in January to 9.7%. And businesses shed 20,000 jobs for the month, far fewer than the 150,000 jobs that were lost in December.
OMB head Peter Orszag is giving a press conference just now with Christina Romer, head of the Council of Economic Advisors, on the president’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Ms Romer… noted that expected fourth quarter-over-fourth quarter real GDP growth would be 3% in 2010, 4.3% in 2011 and 2012, and would average 3.8% in the five years thereafter. These figures are in line with Fed projections. She then gave the unemployment forecast. At the end of 2010, the unemployment rate, according to the administration’s forecast, will be 9.8%. At the end of 2011, the rate will be at 8.9%. And at the end of 2012, after the next presidential election, the unemployment rate will be 7.9%….
