Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

U.S. initial jobless claims rose 15,000
Thursday, March 2, 2006 4:14:13 PM
http://www.fxstreet.com


FXstreet.com (Barcelona) – Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 15,000 to 294,000 last week, the government said on Thursday in a report skewed by two holidays last month. Meanwhile, total jobless rolls dropped 2,000 to a five-year low of 2.486 million, evidence of plentiful jobs that will keep consumers in a spending mood.

Market perception is that the new low in continuing claims indicates the labor market is still strengthening. With the jobless rate at a cyclical low of 4.7 %, Federal Reserve officials are concerned that tight labor markets will translate into higher wages.

Anyhow, strengthening labor market may help encourage consumers to keep spending in the face of a slowdown in housing, economists say. Consumer spending accelerated in January, increasing by the most in six months, after the second-best year for job growth since 1999.

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/noticia.asp?pv_noticia=FXstreetNews2006321413