Initial Unemployment Claims in U.S. Decrease, Signal Worst of Slump Ending

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Shobhana Chandra and Bob Willis

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Fewer American workers filed claims for jobless benefits last week, signaling that the worst phase of the employment slump has passed.

Initial applications for unemployment insurance fell by 4,000 to 621,000 in the week ended May 30, in line with forecasts, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Another Labor report showed worker productivity rose more in the first quarter than previously estimated.

Greater efficiency is contributing to an improvement in profits that will likely lead to fewer job cuts in coming months, analysts said. Companies such as United Technologies Corp. are among those that have slashed payrolls to control labor costs and boost earnings, a step that may help get the economy out of the worst recession in half a century.

“Employers are far advanced in the pace of job cuts,” said John Herrmann, president of Herrmann Forecasting in Summit, New Jersey. Firings “should slow materially” in coming months, he said.

The claims report also showed the number of people collecting unemployment insurance fell to 6.74 million in the week ended May 23 from 6.75 million the prior week. It was the first decrease in almost five months, breaking a string of 17 consecutive records.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arHLVugtTDEY

[leftofthedial]

1. 621,000 jobs.

talk about spin.

[Indydem]

2. Meet the new boss...

"The unemployment rate probably jumped to 9.2 percent, according to the survey median."

They're still not counting those who have stopped looking for jobs, just like bushco did. These numbers are not the true story. Obama is giving $30 billion to Gm while millions of American workers are so disheartened they aren't even bothering to look any more.

[ixion]

3. yeah, right...

:eyes:

[Deja Q]

4. Half a mil per month... how many adults are capable of working? 150 mil?

if the trend doesn't change, we've just over a decade left.

Of course, trends change, and we have a human being back in the White House, so there are at least two reasons to remain optimistic...

[Mithreal]

5. Fell by 4000, Whoohoo! Happy Days are here again. nt

[liberal N proud]

6. I think in statistical terms that would be considered flat.

"the number of people collecting unemployment insurance fell to 6.74 million"

COLLECTING UNEMPLOYMENT being the operative words here.

Tweak a number hear, drop a few there and call everything rosy.

[dkofos]

7. Just the calm before the storm. Don't forget, GM is about to close

who knows how many plants in their bankruptcy reorganization,
kicking as many as 20,000 workers to the curb. And then there
will be the fallout from those closed plants.
Oh, and then there is Chrysler.

[David__77]

8. That's an editorial headline, not a news headline.

How do they know it indicates such a thing? It could improve, then get worse...

[TheWatcher]

9. It's Blatant Propaganda.

And the country needs to stop falling for it.