Unemployment Insurance Claims Drop
July 8th, 10Claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week, according to reports. They fell to their lowest level in two months which some are hoping is a sign the economy is improving. Initial claims dropped 21,000 to 454,000 the Labor Department reported. The Labor Department said the number of people continuing to receive benefits in the final week of June was at the lowest level since late last year.
Claims were expected to fall to 460,000, according to Reuters, but they actually fell further. “I think we are too quick in dismissing the potential for growth in the second half of the year, I don’t think it is going to be as weak as earlier thoughts had it,” Chris Rupkey told Reuters, chief financial economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York.
While some remain hopeful that the unemployment insurance claim drop is a sign of recovery, the Labor Department says it may be thanks to General Motors. The company is limiting its annual summer plan shutdown to meet demand for some models which means fewer people are out of work.
