The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased to a two-month high last week. Swings in jobless applications are typical in July as auto plants close for annual retooling.
First-time claims rose by 16,000 to 360,000 in the week ended July 6 from a revised 344,000, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 340,000. Claims are difficult to adjust in July for seasonal events such as vehicle plant shutdowns and the Independence Day holiday, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data were released.
Firings need to keep waning to lay the groundwork for a pickup in hiring once the effect of higher taxes and federal budget cutbacks fades in the second half of the year. Sustained job gains would help propel income growth and underpin household spending, the biggest part of the economy.
“July claims numbers get totally bounced around by the auto-plant shutdowns,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, who correctly forecast the level of claims. “The labor market is showing steady progress. The pace of hiring is good.”
Another report from the Labor Department showed import prices fell for a fourth straight month in June as costs declined for food, natural gas and motor vehicles.
Stock-index futures maintained gains after the figures, with the contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September rising 0.9 percent to 1,664.1 at 8:45 a.m. in New York.
Economists’ Forecasts
Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from claims of 315,000 to 380,000 after an initially reported 343,000 the previous week.
There was nothing unusual in the data for last week and no states estimated jobless claims, the Labor spokesman said.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, climbed to 351,750 last week from 345,750.