Weekly Jobless Claims Rise

FoxBusiness.com ^ | 1/10/2013 | Reuters

[mykroar]

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but seasonal volatility makes it difficult to get a clear picture of the labor market's health.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised to show 5,000 fewer applications than previously reported.

Claims tend to be very volatile around this time of the year because of the holidays and seasonal layoffs. While they increased last week, there was nothing in the data to suggest a deterioration in labor market conditions.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, increased 6,750 to 365,750, still at a level consistent with steady job gains.

A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in state level data and that no states had been estimated. He noted, however, that jobless claims on an unadjusted basis tend to peak in the second week of January and the rise in the week ended Jan. 5 was a build-up to that.

The labor market has been gradually improving, with job gains last year averaging 153,000 per month, little changed from 2011. That has not been enough to significantly cut the unemployment rate which ended the year at 7.8 percent.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2013/01/10/weekly-jobless-claims-january/#ixzz2HaSFjDh7

[mykroar]

but seasonal volatility makes it difficult to get a clear picture of the labor market's health.

Spin, spin, spin.

And now for something actually unexpected : The prior week's figure was revised to show 5,000 fewer applications than previously reported.

[cripplecreek]

[circlecity]

"The labor market has been gradually improving, with job gains last year averaging 153,000 per month, little changed from 2011. That has not been enough to significantly cut the unemployment rate which ended the year at 7.8 percent."

How does this statement make sense? If the stats show no real improvement in job gains then how is the labor market "gradually improving"?

[skeeter]

Getting a ‘clear picture’ never seems to be a problem when the numbers reflect well on Obama “economic policy”.

[ClearCase_guy]

We haven't been able to get a "clear picture" in quite a long time.

Sometimes in snows.
Sometimes Christrmas unexpectedly pops up.
Sometimes an unamed state doesn't send in their numbers.

One way or another, the picture is always fuzzy, which makes it just that much harder for the sheeple to sit up in their chairs and say "Hey! That doesn't look good!"

[FoxInSocks]

The prior week's figure was revised to show 5,000 fewer applications than previously reported.

But it was quietly revealed later in the article that the number remained an increase nonetheless: "While they increased last week."