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Tag Archives: Jobs

Jump in First-Time Jobless Claims Sharpest Since 2009

First time claims for unemployment insurance shot up 46,000 to 388,000—the highest level since July — for the week ended October 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to bounce back up to 365,000 after seasonal factors drove the number of claims down to the lowest level in 54 months.

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First-Time Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Level Since February 2008

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000 — the lowest level since February 2008 — for the week ended October 6, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The drop was far steeper than market expectations of 370,000 initial claims.

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Residential Real Estate Bright Spot in Fed Report

The nation's economy generally expanded modestly from mid-August until the end of September, the Federal Reserve said in its periodic Beige Book report issued Wednesday. The report, the last Beige Book to be issued prior to Election Day, painted a mixed regional picture, with a leveling off of economic activity in New York and a slowing in the pace of growth in Kansas City. Residential real estate proved to be a bright spot amid an otherwise pedestrian report.

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Two Data Points Undermine ‘Truther’ Claims

Debating continued two days after Barack Obama and Mitt Romney met in Denver, not between the candidates but over the monthly Employment Situation report showing the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent, the first sub-8.0 percent unemployment rate since January 2009.

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Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.8%; Economy Adds 114K Jobs

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September–the lowest level since January 2009—as the economy added a below-average 114,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)reported Friday. The 0.3 percentage point improvement in the unemployment rate is the largest since January 2011, when the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.1 percent.

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First-Time Unemployment Claims Inch Up

First-time claims for unemployment insurance edged up by 4,000 to 367,000 for the week ended September 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week's report was revised upward to 363,000 first-time claims from the originally reported 359,000.

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Benchmarking Affects Payroll Data

When the September employment situation report is released Friday, one number will loom large, and it won't be the number of new payroll jobs, expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg to be about 113,000, and it won't be the unemployment rate, expected to be 8.1 percent. Instead, it will be 386,000, which is the number of jobs added to the nation's payrolls, not by employers, but by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its annual ""benchmarking"" of payroll data.

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Housing Can’t Save the Economy

Both existing and new home sales are on the rise, but no amount of improvement in the housing sector will bring relief to the overall economy, which continues to struggle, according to Capital Economics. Economists at Capital Economics suggest the Fed's launch of QE3 may bring the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate even lower. While this may entice more home buyers, ""the bottom line is that housing is unlikely to become a significant driver of GDP growth,"" Capital Economics states.

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Mortgage Contracting Services Commences Operations in Louisiana

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC (MCS) commemorated the official opening of its newest facility in Ruston, Louisiana, this week with a ribbon-cutting event. MCS provides property preservation services, inspections, and REO property maintenance to mortgage servicers nationwide. The Ruston facility is the company's third.

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Mortgage Rates Break Low Records Again as QE3 Starts

It's unknown whether or not the Federal Reserve's new stimulus will be able to whip the economy back into shape, but one thing's for sure: It's sent mortgage rates plummeting. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed new record lows in all categories except the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

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