U.S. Jobless Claims Rise

U.S. jobless claims rise, suggesting employment conditions while softening still remain good.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance increased by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 316,000 for the week ending Aug. 4. The increase left claims at their highest point since late June.

Economists were predicting claims would be lower, around 310,000 for last week.

Still, claims are lower now than they were a year ago, when they stood at 319,000.

In other economic news, the back-to-school shopping season had a disappointing start in July as people turned cautious amid turmoil on Wall Street, harder-to-get credit and the worsening housing slump.

I have been writing about the wealth factor and how a stock market in turmoil coupled with a collapse in the housing market would eventually lead into the broader economy. These back-to-school sales numbers would indicate that my assumptions were correct.