Tag Archives: Jobs

First-time claims for unemployment insurance continued to move sideways, dropping 5,000 to 366,000 for the week ending February 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average for first time claims fell 2,250 to 350,000--the lowest level since March 2008, a strong signal of an improving labor market.

As more markets across the country improved, all 50 states--plus the District of Columbia--were able to receive representation in February's Improving Markets Index (IMI) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American. Last year during this time, just 36 states were represented.

Asking prices rose dramatically in January as renting prices cooled off somewhat, according to the latest data in Trulia's Price and Rent monitors. The company's Price Monitor showed a 0.3 percent quarter-over-quarter rise in January (without seasonal adjustment). On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 2.2 percent quarterly. While January's numbers signal a strong price recovery, Trulia's chief economist warned the month's gains could disappear in some areas.

A new poll from the Consumer Reports National Research Center (CRNRC) shows consumer confidence is off to a sluggish start in 2013.

Subprime credit scores are declining across the country with strong declines in a few rebounding markets, according to Atlanta-based Equifax, a leading credit reporting agency. Designating credit scores below 620 as "subprime," Equifax found the number of subprime borrowers decreased 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012. The 2.1 percent translates to about 1 million Americans who rose from the subprime category.

Consumer confidence picked up somewhat in January, but the recent payroll tax hike put a ceiling on any major gains.

If businesses had any reluctance to hire in December because of fiscal cliff concerns, they didn't make up for it in January: Payrolls expanded by 157,000, down from December, but the unemployment rate moved to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent a month earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped 38,000 to 368,000 for the week ending January 26, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected a smaller increase to 350,000 from the prior week's 330,000 initial claims. The weekly jump in initial claims was the first in three weeks. It reflected, in part, a drop in the seasonal adjustment factor the Labor Department applies to the raw data, which includes holiday workers whose jobs were eliminated.

With a nod to the report the nation's economy had contracted in the fourth quarter, the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") voted Wednesday to continue its program of purchasing $40 million a month of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and to maintain the target Fed Funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent. The FOMC vote was 11-1 with only Kansas City Fed President Esther George (in her first meeting as a voting member of the committee) voting "no."

The average credit score among online mortgage shoppers is rising and is well above the overall national average, according to a recent study by MortgageMarvel.com.