Thursday, December 08, 2005

Initial Jobless Claims Rise Modestly

- Initial Jobless Claims for last week rose to 327K versus estimates of 318K and 321K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims fell to 2603K versus estimates of 2745K and 2740K prior.
BOTTOM LINE: The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week as delayed filing from the Thanksgiving week inflated the tally, Bloomberg said. The total number of people collecting benefits dropped by the most in almost a year. The four-week moving average of jobless claims fell to 322,500 from 322,750. The unemployment rate among those able to receive benefits, which follows the US unemployment rate, fell to 2.0% from 2.1%. I continue to believe the labor market will remain healthy, but fail to tighten to the extent as to boost unit labor costs, the largest component of inflation, substantially.

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