"The Obama Revovery" - Housing Starts, Permits Higher; Jobless Claims Post Drop

[jefferson_dem]

Housing Starts, Permits Higher; Jobless Claims Post Drop
Published: Thursday, 17 Sep 2009 | 8:44 AM ET Text Size By: Reuters

New U.S. housing starts and permits rose in August to their highest level since November, lifted by a rebound in multifamily homes, a government report showed on Thursday.

AP
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The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units, just shy of market expectations for 600,000 units. July's housing starts were revised upwards to 589,000 units from the previously reported 581,000 units.

In other economic news, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell by 12,000 last week, data on Thursday showed, while there was a rise in the number of those still on the benefit rolls after an initial week of aid.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance declined to a lower-than-expected seasonally adjusted 545,000 in the week ended Sept 12 from 557,000 the week before, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest reading since early July.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast claims to rise to 555,000 last week from a previously reported count of 550,000.

<SNIP>

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32891527

[Zynx]

1. The really good news about the jobless claims number is that it should have increased

because of a normal seasonal adjustment that really doesn't apply this year. This means next week there is a chance for a large and meaningful fall in jobless claims into the very low 500,000 range. We may see claims fall below 500,000 some time in the next four weeks.

[Kingofalldems]

2. Republican disruptor will hate reading this one

[fasttense]

3. Half a million newly unemployed people a month is good news? Only in America.n/t

[Zynx]

6. Jobless claims are always in the multiple hundreds of thousands each week.

They are still high, but they are down close to 20% from their peak earlier this year.

[phleshdef]

9. Learn history, then make posts.

[scheming daemons]

10. Amazing how many people post about a number without understanding what it means

read a book.

[bluestateguy]

4. V

[girl gone mad]

5. I don't think we need more houses..

or bubbles, for that matter.

[Zynx]

7. Housing is so far from bubble territory that we need not worry about that for some time.

Also, a certain level of housing starts is necessary to simply replace those houses that are destroyed each year.


I would be extremely constrained to call the present level of housing starts extreme:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/HOUST1F?cid...

[Clio the Leo]

8. And this was one of the Yahoo headlines this morning....

(before the ACTUAL report came out of course)

First-time jobless claims expected to rise...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gNiyJ...


funny, funny ......... no wonder folks aren't getting that the recession is ending.

[Cha]

12. "Expected" by whom? The Doom & Gloom FAIL

Pushers? Sure.

[dionysus]

11. what's a revovery?