Posted By thestatedtruth.com on August 19, 2010

How does this come as an unexpected surprise……This isn’t rocket science folks, maybe the bigs in Washington need to get out a little more. 

By Bob Willis and Courtney Schlisserman

Aug 19, 2010

Claims for U.S. jobless benefits jumped to the highest level since November and Philadelphia-area manufacturing shrank for the first time in a year, indicating the economy may be slowing faster than forecast.

The number of unemployment claims unexpectedly shot up by 12,000 to 500,000 in the week ended Aug. 14, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index turned negative in August, signaling contraction.

Claims exceeded estimates of all 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and compared with the median forecast of 478,000. Estimates ranged from 460,000 to 495,000. The government revised the prior week’s claims figure to 488,000 from a previously reported 484,000.

“There’s a red flag being waved right now that says ‘Danger,’” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Growth is going to slow in the second half and we might face something a little more ominous than that.”

More at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-19/jobless-claims-in-u-s-rose-to-500-000-highest-since-november.html

Categories: Wall Street
Tags: