U.S. jobless claims at 15-year low; consumer spending rises

Yahoo Finance ^ | 04/30/2015 | Lucia Mutikani

[SeekAndFind]

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits tumbled to a 15-year low last week and consumer spending rose in March, signs the economy was regaining momentum after stumbling badly in the first quarter.

The economic outlook was brightened further by another report on Thursday showing a solid increase in wages in the first quarter, which should keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000 for the week ended April 25, the lowest reading since April 2000, the Labor Department said.

It was the eighth straight week that claims remained below 300,000, which is usually associated with a strengthening labor market, suggesting March's moderation in job growth was likely an aberration.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 290,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 1,250 last week to 283,750.

Separately, the Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.4 percent last month as households stepped up purchases of big-ticket items like automobiles.

The increase followed a 0.2 percent gain in February and indicated that consumer spending picked up momentum at the end of the first quarter, which bodes well for consumption in the April-June period.

While that should boost growth in the second quarter, the rebound in economic activity will likely be curbed by an inventory overhang, a strong dollar and cuts in energy sector investment.

[SeekAndFind]

It's fun with Thursday jobless claims numbers once again

[dowcaet]

And once again the liberal media is slobbering all over themselves with glee. At some point next month we will get a “readjustment” of the numbers. Count on it.

[Psalm 73]

"...economic outlook was brightened further by another..." dose of unicorns and rainbows.
Unfortunately, we don't live in "Care Bear Land"

[mykroar]

And they do so without any hint of shame, even with the atrocious first quarter numbers that just came out.

[moehoward]

Just like clockwork.

Yesterday “The Slow-Growth Fed. The economy starts another year with a stall despite near-zero rates.”

Today, more of that beautiful Obama recovery!

[subterfuge]

In 30 years when the millions of people hit retirement age with ZERO savings there will be carnage in the streets.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I don’t know who is spreading this bull**** but it’s obvious that they have NO CLUE what is actually going on out here in America. BULL****!!!!

[Roos_Girl]

I wonder if the real numbers will ever really be reported again.

[Roos_Girl]

You give it 30 years?

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I don’t know who is spreading this bull****

The Census Bureau is the one that does the unemployment survey.

It is under the Department of Commerce.

[Soul of the South]

“It’s fun with Thursday jobless claims numbers once again”

Somehow my eyes tell me reality is different than the government projects. I’ve learned over six decades to trust my senses, not government agencies. Just a few stories from yesterday.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/u-s-steel-ceo-layoff-notices-nationwide-rise-to/article_2545ab4b-393d-5462-a4e3-d5f6885f7e93.html

http://www.katc.com/story/28918709/bell-helicopter-announces-1100-layoffs

http://www.nfib.com/article/assurant-health-to-close-or-be-sold-69008/

[cymbeline]

I can’t get out of my head something I read yesterday: in one in 5 housolds no one is working.

[Steve_Seattle]

"In 30 years when the millions of people hit retirement age with ZERO savings there will be carnage in the streets."

Yep. Millions more than today will be forced to live on social security alone, and that will only support life in a heavily-subsidized micro-apartment. The future looks bleak for my children's generation. We're on the way to being a third-world country - a super-rich elite (.01%), a small upper class (5%), a small middle-class (15%), a large lower class (60%), and a large unemployable underclass (20%).

[GodAndCountryFirst]

ALL of the numbers we have been fed for the past 6 years have been FAKE. The economy is MUCH WORSE than it was when the Kenyan Usurper took the reins. No net new jobs have been created unless you count the massive expansion of the federal government.

[zek157]

The only adequate measure is the labor participation rate.

BLS should be manipulating this data too, but somehow they don’t. MS media peddles the BS line anyway.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

[Obadiah]

Makes total sense, and something I haven't thought about. Many, many workers today are working part-time, or multiple part-time jobs, due in part to Obamacare. Additionally, many are working in low-salary, few benefit jobs.

What are these people going to do? No pensions, no means to save anything for retirement due to healthcare costs, food costs, etc.

Has this ever happened in the past on such a large scale? Sure, maybe in the 1800’s or something, but no one thought about retirement then and things were handled very simply. Now, we are “taking away” the ability to retire — ever.

Moreover, the upper middle class will continue to retire comfortably while the rest of America will be forced to compete for government crumbs. In fact, I think we are already seeing the impact of this stratification.

Ten or twenty years ago cremation was barely heard of or used. Now, due to the economy of cremation, many, many people are opting to have family members cremated. A burial requires assets and many people no longer have such assets at the end of life to afford a burial.

[Mastador1]

U.S. jobless claims at 15-year low; consumer spending rises

BOLSHEVIK! Jobless claims at 15 year low? Only because so many people can't find work and have fallen off of the rolls.

And as for consumer spending, wasn't there just another report about inventories being at record levels? It's amazing that under demoncrat rule actualfacts and truth are concepts that cease to exist.

[ScottinVA]

Well now.. how do people file for unemployment benefits from part-time job, the category of which represents 75% of the job generation in the Obama economy?

[Steve_Seattle]

"Ten or twenty years ago cremation was barely heard of or used. Now, due to the economy of cremation, many, many people are opting to have family members cremated. A burial requires assets and many people no longer have such assets at the end of life to afford a burial."

Just a few months ago I attended a Catholic funeral, and it was the first time I ever saw an ash urn at a Catholic funeral. (I'm not sure if the church used to prohibit cremation, but it was definitely discouraged.)

[Steve_Seattle]

I wonder what will become of the single-family home in 20-30 years. Many who now live in them (including myself) could not afford to buy in today's market. Once we're gone, will there be enough people with a large enough income to buy those houses? Will the price go down, or will the houses be razed in favor or apartments? Based on what I'm seeing now, I'd bet on the latter.

Government is increasingly banning new development in undeveloped areas, so if the population increases, that increase will be shoehorned into existing developed areas, which means the destruction of single-family housing.