Tag Archives: Bureau of Labor Statistics

First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose 10,000 to 372,000 for the week ending December 29, the third-lowest level of the year, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 363,000. The previous week's report was revised upward to 362,000 from the originally reported 350,000, an unusually large revision but reflective of intervening holidays, during which state processing offices were closed.

Negotiators in Washington face a dismal weekend leading up to -- and perhaps including -- New Year's Eve, made worse because they're trying to solve the wrong problem. They're wrangling over how to avoid the fiscal cliff when a series of laws aimed at or contributing to the nation's deficit are set to expire, complicated by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's pronouncement the nation is approaching its debt ceiling.

First time claims for unemployment insurance dropped 12,000 to 350,000 for the week ended December 22, the third lowest level of the year, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 365,000. The previous week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós report was revised upward to 362,000 from the originally reported 361,000.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance increased 17,000 to 361,000 for the week ending December 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 359,000. The previous week's report was revised upward to 344,000 from the originally reported 343,000.

Superstorm Sandy blew a hole not in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós labor market, but in economists├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó crystal balls as the economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent--the lowest level since December 2008--the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Continuing to show the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 25,000 to 370,000 for the week ended December 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 380,000 initial claims filings. The previous week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós report was revised upward to 395,000 from the originally reported 393,000.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 393,000 for the week ending November 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 390,000 initial claims filings. First-time unemployment claims are gradually returning to pre-Sandy levels but remain elevated. In the four weeks prior to the storm that ravaged the East Coast, initial claims averaged about 369,000. Claims spiked to 451,000 in the week immediately following and have averaged 405,000 in the two weeks following.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 41,000 to 410,000 for the week ending November 17, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected 415,000 initial claims filings.

Last week's jobs report contained some good news with the bad, but analysts doubt there's enough to influence the presidential election.

The nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent in October, even as the economy added 171,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The labor force--the sum of employed and unemployed--improved in October, causing the bump in the unemployment rate and signaling renewed confidence among those on the sidelines that jobs are available. With its mixed results, the report provides fodder for both President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney four days before Election Day.