Jobless Claims Rise in July as Factory Orders Decline

(Newsroom America) -- New claims for unemployment benefits rose last month as factory orders unexpectedly fell, providing fresh evidence of an old story - that the economy is continuing to struggle, which is putting downward pressure on demand.

First-time jobless claims, which is an indication of lay-offs, increased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000 in the week ended July 28, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast 370,000 new applications for jobless benefits last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Claims for the prior week ending July 21 were revised upward to 357,000 from 353,000, the department said.

Overall, the four-week moving average of claims, a better indicator, slipped by 2,750 to 365,500, though claims continue to outpace job creation.

Some economists have estimated that employers created about 95,000 jobs last month, which is better than the 80,000 jobs created in June but still far below the amount needed to decrease the unemployment rate, which is stuck at 8.2 percent.

Other analysts point out that the rate is actually much higher when workers who have simply dropped out of the workforce altogether and have stopped looking for employment are counted.

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