The bleak US employment outlook continues with 445,000 first time claims this week. With consumer confidence so low, manufacturing output taking a hit, and little forward looking capital investment I think it's time we started doing the math.
The number of new U.S. jobless claims last week jumped to its highest in nearly a year, the government said on Thursday, offering little hope for a turnaround in the grim labor market picture. First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits spiked 38,000 to 445,000 in the March 29 week, the largest one-week rise since an 86,000 jump in the Dec 7 2002 week, the Labor Department said. The rise was due in small part to a massive snowstorm in Colorado the third week of March.The number of new claims were at their highest since measuring 452,000 in the April 13, 2002 week and well above Wall Street economists' forecast for 410,000. "It's clear that there's a deterioration going on," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Native America Securities in New York. "It's a large move; we have a clear weakness in the economy." The total number of unemployed workers staying on jobless aid rose to 3.61 million during the week ended March 22 -- the latest week for which figures are available - from 3.5 million the prior week. U.S. Treasury bonds, which had been focusing on developments on the war in Iraq, tried to pare their losses on the sharp rise in jobless data. However, news that U.S.-led forces in Iraq were pushing close to the capital Baghdad held back Treasury bonds in morning trade. The latest jobless claims figures suggest that the level of unemployment in the economy, which stood at 5.8 percent for February, could go even higher.
Source: Reuters
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