Latest jobs stats

CNN/Money reports: “Jobless claims climb; Initial claims for unemployment insurance rise by 12,000, above forecasts for second straight week”

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 345,000 in the week ended May 15 from a revised 333,000 the previous week. . . .

The four-week moving average, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations in the report, fell to 333,500 from a revised 336,250 the previous week. The four-week moving average hit the lowest level since the week ended Nov. 18, 2000.

Continued claims, counting the number of people drawing benefits for more than a week, fell to 2.943 million in the week ended May 8 from a revised 2.966 million the previous week. Read more

Reuters reports: “Factories Cool Off, But Jobs Coming” (by Victoria Thieberger)

Factories in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region took a breather in May after a recent sizzling pace, but the prospects for American manufacturing remain bright, a closely watched survey showed on Thursday. . . .

Despite the slight setback indicated in the factory report and the gain in jobless claims, economists said the economic rebound is still on track. . . .

[H]iring prospects improved to the best level since April 1973.

“The manufacturing sector now appears to be enjoying some of its most significant job growth in decades, but also experiencing pricing pressures that firms are increasingly able to pass along for the first time since the 1980s expansion,” said Peter Kretzmer, senior economist at Bank of America. . . . Read more

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