Thursday, May 01, 2003

New Jobless Claims High

And, as usual, the previous weeks' were revised upwards.

The labor market continues to deteriorate. Last week 448,000 people filed for first-time jobless claims, exceeding consensus estimates. The previous week’s number was revised up to 461,000. Initial claims have exceeded the benchmark 400,000 level for 11 consecutive weeks. Initial claims have actually trended higher since the end of March. Continuing claims have risen also, to 3.68 million. Tomorrow’s employment report will show a third month of net job losses.