US Jobs Market Shows Strength, Jobless Claims Up

The U.S. jobs market showed some signs of strength in June as private employers added more jobs than expected.

The U.S. jobs market showed some signs of strength in June as private employers added more jobs than expected and planned layoffs decreased, but initial claims for unemployment insurance edged up last week, reports showed on Thursday.

Another report, by a global online careers and recruiting firm, showed a gauge of U.S. online recruiting dipped in June, suggesting that a seasonal summer hiring slowdown may have come earlier than normal.

First-time applications for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to 318,000 in the week ended June 30 from an upwardly revised 316,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

Wall Street analysts had forecast a rise in claims to 315,000 from an initial reading of 313,000 in the week ended June 23.

The closely watched four-week moving average, which flattens the more volatile weekly fluctuations, rose for the sixth straight week to its highest level since April 28. The four-week average rose to 318,500 from 316,750.

The number of people continuing to draw benefits after an initial week of aid jumped 84,000 to 2.57 million in the week ended June 23, the latest period for which figures were available, and to its highest level since mid-April.

According to the latest Reuters poll of economists the U.S. Labor Department on Friday is expected to show that 120,000 non-farm payroll jobs were created last month, down from 157,000 in May.

In a report on Thursday showing stronger-than-expected jobs growth, ADP Employer Services said U.S. private employers likely added 150,000 jobs in June, more than the three-month average ending that month of 103,000.

The ADP report had been expected to show 100,000 new private sector jobs in June, according to the consensus estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Reuters.

Accelerated private sector job gains in June are consistent with an upturn in overall economic growth in early 2007, said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC which jointly developed the ADP report.

Macroeconomic Advisers said it revised up by 1,000 to 98,000 the number of jobs created in May.

Planned U.S. layoffs fell by 22 percent in June from May, as some key sectors in manufacturing, such as the automotive industry, cut far fewer workers than a month ago and a year earlier, an independent report showed on Thursday.

However, the deteriorating U.S. housing market and the subprime mortgage sector's woes caused cutbacks to accelerate in the financial sector, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an employment consulting firm.

Total announced layoffs were 55,726 in June versus 71,115 in May, the firm said. June's job cuts were down 17 percent from a year earlier, and year to date, announced job cuts are 10 percent below last year's level.

The automotive industry has announced 37,246 planned layoffs in the first half this year, down sharply from 69,334 in the first half of 2006.

Overall, the survey found a lack of available skilled workers, with 69 percent of companies having difficulty finding certain workers.

Online career and recruiting firm Monster Worldwide Inc. said on Thursday its Monster Employment Index fell to 186 in June from 189 in May, but was higher than 171 posted a year earlier.

The index's decline, which is typically seen in July, eased the year-over-year growth rate to 9 percent, the slowest on record. The dip also suggests renewed moderation in online demand after five months of growth, Monster said.

In another report, wealthy U.S. investors grew more cautious in June due to concern about the economy and a month of choppy markets, according to a monthly survey released on Thursday.

The Spectrem Affluent Investors Index fell 4 points in June to a reading of 7, returning to April's number. The study measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets.