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US new jobless claims drop slightly
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-03 23:09

US new jobless claims drop slightly
Attendees at a job fair line up to gather information about a prospective employer in a Washington hotel, August 6, 2009. [Agencies]
US new jobless claims drop slightly

The Labor Department on Friday will release a report on the employment picture in August. Many economists believe it will show the jobless rate rose to 9.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent in July, but that the number of layoffs slowed to 225,000, from 247,000.

In minutes of their August deliberations released Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers said that a poor jobs market, evaporated wealth, hard-to-get credit and stagnant wages meant that consumers were still facing "considerable headwinds."

Related readings:
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US new jobless claims drop slightly UK jobless rate hits 13-yr high of 7.8%
US new jobless claims drop slightly Euro jobless rate climbs to 9.5%
US new jobless claims drop slightly US new jobless claims swell to 627K
US new jobless claims drop slightly Japan's jobless rate shows spike
Obama economic adviser Christina Romer said last week that unemployment could reach 10 percent this year and some private economists are forecasting it will hit 10.3 percent next summer before starting to improve.

But Vice President Joe Biden issued an upbeat report card on the economy Thursday, saying that the massive stimulus program had been more effective "than we had hoped."

Still, consumers are not spending enough to boost retailers' bottom lines. Discounter Target Corp. and warehouse club operators Costco Wholesale tates.

The large number of people remaining on the rolls indicates that unemployed workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.

More job cuts were announced this week. Washington-based manufacturer Danaher Corp. said it will lay off about 3,300 of its roughly 50,000 employees, an increase from the 1,700 cuts it announced in the spring. American Airlines said it is cutting 921 flight attendant jobs as it deals with an ongoing downturn in traffic and lower revenue.

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