New unemployment benefit claims rose unexpectedly last week according to government data shown on Thursday. The increase highlighted the weak labor market and tenuous economic recovery.
According to the Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits went up 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 479,000 in the week ending July 31. This was the highest level in claims since April.
The U.S. dollar fell against the yen while U.S. government debt prices rose and the stock index futures extended losses against the weak jobless claims data.
The 4 week average of the new jobless claims rose 5,250 to 458,500. This is considered to be a better measure of underlying labor market trends since it flattens out the week to week volatility.
Private sector payrolls are actually seen as rising a moderate 90,000 and the unemployment rate is anticipated to climb to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in June.
Some U.S. retailers are showing July sales below the experts expectations in the most recent sign that concern over high unemployment and the economic conditions in general are causing consumers to decrease spending.
