US jobless claimants come down
The number of Americans lining up for jobless benefits tumbled in the last week, a decline seen as distorted by upheaval in the car industry, while a key regional factory index slipped in July, reports showed yesterday.
At the same time, US home foreclosures raced to a record high in the first half of 2009, swamping efforts by the White House to remedy the spate of failing loans.
The day’s reports highlighted the frailty of the US economy at a time many forecasters see the economy poised to climb out of a deep recession that started in December 2007.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its index of manufacturing conditions in the US Mid-Atlantic region fell to minus 7.5 in July from June’s unexpectedly strong reading of minus 2.2. Analysts had expected a slightly smaller decline this month.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve report was consistent with views that the initial stages of recovery will be far from robust.
In news on the closely watched jobs market, the US Labour Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance fell 47,000 to a seasonally adjusted 522,000 in the week ended 11 July.
The figure was much lower than expected, but was not seen as a sign of a sudden, sharp improvement in the labour market.