Job Market Still Healthy, Factory Orders Decline After Large Jump

- Initial Jobless Claims rose to 317K versus estimates of 310K and 301K the prior week.

- Continuing Claims fell to 2541K versus estimates of 2550K and 2551K prior.

- Factory Orders for August fell 3.3% versus estimates of a 2.8% decline and a 3.4% increase in July.

BOTTOM LINE: The number of US workers filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week remained near the average for the year, showing companies are holding on to their employees, Bloomberg reported. The four-week moving-average of claims increased to 312,750 from 312,250. The unemployment rate among those eligible for jobless benefits, which tracks the US unemployment rate, held steady at a historically low 1.9%. I continue to believe the job market will remain healthy over the intermediate-term without generating substantial unit labor cost increases.

Orders placed with US factories fell in August after a large jump in July, Bloomberg reported. Excluding transports, factory orders fell 1.7%. Bookings in August for capital goods excluding aircraft and military equipment, a gauge of future business investment, fell .5% versus a .9% increase the prior month. Shipments of non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, which the government uses to compute GDP, rose 1% versus unch. in July. Orders for petroleum and coal products fell 7.4% in August. Factory inventories fell .1%, the first decline since February 2006. I continue to believe manufacturing will help boost overall US growth as companies gain confidence in the sustainability of the current expansion and rebuild depleted inventories.