Unemployment applications fell off last week for the first time in five weeks. On Thursday, the Labor Department announced a 12,000 drop to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. Unemployment applications are usually seen as a measure of current layoff activity.
In timeframes where the number of applications are less than 375,000, it indicates hiring is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate. For most of 2012, the number of applications has hovered around that level, following significant drops during the tail end of 2011.
According to the Fed, companies created 69,000 jobs in May, the lowest number in the last twelve months. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent in May, up .1 percent from April.
On the other hand, job growth averaged 252,000 a month drom December through February, an above average showing. Yet, hiring is slowing down to a 3-month average of 96,000 per month.
According to experts, the amount of people receiving unemployment benefits is on a decline in part because state extended benefits programs are ending in a number of states.
While being 36 months out from the officinal end of the recession in June 2009, many struggles continue for the U.S. Inflation has outpaced wage growth and state and local governments have continued to eliminate jobs while trying to avoid deficits.
Washington says the economy grew at a slow annual rate of 1.9 percetn during the first three months of 2012.
The U.S. has gained back more than 3.7 million jobs of the 8.8 million lost during the most recent recession.
Modern Business Associates is an HR company that focuses on payroll and HR outsourcing. We routinely work with clients on benefits and HR management. As a Professional Payroll and HR outsource organization, our clients rely on us to help them effectively deal with these kinds of topics.