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The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits dropped slightly last week to its lowest level in two months, a sign that employers are cutting fewer jobs.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for jobless benefits fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 450,000, the third decline in four weeks. Many economists had expected an increase. Get the full story »
New requests for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week after rising in the past three weeks. Still, claims remain much higher than they would be in a healthy economy.
The Labor Department says new claims for jobless aid dropped by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 473,000. Wall Street economists had expected a smaller drop, according to surveys by Thomson Reuters. Get the full story »
The number of workers who died on the job fell by 17 percent last year to the lowest level in nearly two decades, as workers logged fewer hours during the recession, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The 4,340 workplace fatalities recorded in 2009 was the smallest total since the Bureau of Labor Statistics first began tracking the data in 1992. It’s the second straight year that fatal work injuries have reached a historic low, following a 10 percent drop in 2008. Get the full story »
New applications for unemployment insurance rose last week to their highest level in almost six months, a sign that employers are still cutting their staffs. The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000. Analysts had expected a drop. That’s the highest total since the week of Feb. 20.
Initial claims have now risen in three of the last four weeks and are close to their high point for the year of 490,000, reached in late January. The four-week average, which smooths volatility, soared by 14,250 to 473,500, also the highest since late February. Get the full story »
U.S. job openings were flat in June while the number of new hires slipped, according to a government report on Wednesday that underscored the persistent weakness in the labor market.
The Labor Department said there were 2.9 million job openings in June, almost identical to May’s tally. Get the full story »
U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows amid concerns about the state of the economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac.
Rock-bottom rates offer a glimmer of hope for a housing market struggling to gain traction since the recent expiration of popular home-buyer tax credits.
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.49 percent for the week to Aug. 5, down from 4.54 percent a week earlier and 5.22 percent a year ago, according to the survey. Get the full story »
The Federal Reserve will try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday, offering his clearest blueprint yet for possible additional monetary easing.
After three quarters of solid growth, the U.S. economy has been losing steam, with firms still reluctant to hire and the housing sector seemingly unable to exit a prolonged rut. Get the full story »
New U.S. claims for jobless benefits climbed more steeply than anticipated last week, according to a Labor Department report on Thursday that further underlined the drag on economic activity from persistently weak job markets.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 464,000 in the week ended July 17, the department said, more than erasing a decline in the prior week that included the Independence Day holiday. Get the full story »
U.S. job openings slipped in May, but the hiring rate climbed to its highest level in nearly two years, government data showed Tuesday.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, dipped to 3.21 million from 3.30 million in April, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Get the full story »
A wave of census layoffs cut the nation’s payrolls in June for the first time in six months, while private employers added a modest number of jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent, its lowest level in almost a year.
Employers cut 125,000 jobs last month, the most since last October, the Labor Department said Friday. The loss was driven by the end of 225,000 temporary census jobs. Businesses added a net total of 83,000 workers, an improvement from May. But that’s also below March and April totals.
The nation has 7.9 million fewer private payroll jobs than it did when the recession began.
Companies are starting to hire again, but many are turning their backs on older job seekers.
The unemployment rate for those in the 25 to 54-year-old age group has fallen from a record high of 9.2% in October to 8.7 percent in May. But the nationwide unemployment rate for older workers — while lower than that of younger workers — has barely moved since hitting a record high of 7.2 percent in December. It’s currently 7.1 percent. Get the full story »
