Jobless claims on the rise

@CNNMoney June 14, 2012: 10:36 AM ET
initial jobless claims unemployment benefits

Job seekers in New York.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits climbed last week, indicating continued trouble for the labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 386,000 people filed new jobless claims in the week ended June 9, up 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure.

That was 11,000 more than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast 375,000 people would file new claims.

Initial claims are a volatile number. But because they're closely correlated with layoffs, economists consider them to be a key gauge of the job market.

Nearly 3.3 million people filed for their second week of unemployment benefits or more in the week ended June 2, the most recent data available. That number was down 33,000 from the previous week.

Two weeks ago, the government released a May jobs report that indicated job growth is slowing sharply.

Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the worse-than-expected jobs numbers released Thursday are a sign that economic growth may slow in the second half of the year.

"There is really no getting away from the point that things are slowing, the economy is slowing," Vitner said.

The dour outlook is partially attributable to headwinds from Europe, Vitner said.

"Now that the global economy is slowing, companies in the U.S. are becoming much more cautious about expanding," he said. To top of page

Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Economic Calendar
Latest ReportNext Update
Home pricesAug 28
Consumer confidenceAug 28
GDPAug 29
Manufacturing (ISM)Sept 4
JobsSept 7
Inflation (CPI)Sept 14
Retail sales Sept 14
  • -->

    Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.