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Unemployment aid claims up for second straight week

Published:Friday | December 2, 2011 | 12:00 AM
In this April 8, 2011 photo, brothers William (left) and Jonathan Bartley, speak to Punita Sareen, a recruitment officer with Emirate Airlines, at the annual CUNY Big Apple Job Fair, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. - Ap

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, a sign the hiring market is recovering at a slow and uneven pace.

Weekly applications for unemploy-ment benefits rose by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, the Labour Department said Thursday. Applications had been below 400,000 for three straight weeks.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, was mostly unchanged at slightly below 400,000.

The average fell to a seven-month low two weeks ago. Weekly applications had been declining for two months.

The recent increases aren't enough to suggest things are getting worse, economists said.

"The overall trend in claims is still friendly," said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, in a note to clients. "Don't be too overly concerned with the ups and downs of each week as this is a volatile report."

The report covered the Thanksgiving holiday week, when applications usually fall sharply. That can make seasonal adjustment of the figures difficult.

Applications would need to stay below 375,000 consistently to push down the unemployment rate significantly. They haven't been at that level since February.

The figures come one day before the government reports on job growth in November. Economists project that employers added a net 125,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate stayed at nine per cent for the second straight month.

Barely enough

While the job growth would be an improvement from October, when the economy added just 80,000 jobs, it's still barely enough to keep pace with population growth.

Some economists are more optimistic after payroll provider ADP said Wednesday that companies added 206,000 workers last month, the most this year. That survey doesn't include government agencies, which have been cutting jobs.

Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said on Wednesday he expects the government to say employers added 140,000 net jobs last month.

Recent data suggest the US economy is picking up. Retailers reported a strong start to holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumer confidence surged in November to the highest level since July and Americans' pay rose in October by the most in seven months.

- AP