The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, evidence that layoffs are continuing to ease in the earliest stages of an economic recovery. The Labor Department says initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 530,000 from an upwardly revised 551,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists expected claims to rise by 5,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Fewer layoffs “would be an important sign of improvement … lessening the critical threat to consumer spending—and to the overall economy—represented by falling employment,” Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics, wrote in a note to clients. The four-week average of jobless claims, which smoothes out fluctuations, dropped to 553,500. That’s the lowest since late January, though still far above the 325,000 weekly claims typical in a healthy economy.
Meanwhile, home resales dipped unexpectedly last month after four straight gains, a sign the housing market recovery remains fragile. The National Association of Realtors says sales dropped 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million in August. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The median sales price fell to $177,700, down 12.5% from the same month last year.
