Jobless Claims Fall, Durable Goods Orders Gain

[Stocks-to-Watch]

The number of newly unemployed dropped by* 22,000 to 391,000 for the week ended Feb. 19, according to a Labor Department report out this morning. The previous week’s figures were revised to 413,000 from 410,000.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch* and Dow Jones Newswires had expected initial claims to drop just 5,000, to a seasonally adjusted 405,000.

The four-week average, a more reliable metric that smooths out weekly bumps, tumbled to its lowest level since July 2008, falling 16,500 from the prior week to 402,000. Continuing claims dropped 145,000 to 3.79 million in the week ended Feb. 12.

Overall, approximately 9.16 million Americans were receiving some form of government employment assistance in the week ended Feb. 5, down 89,782.

Durable goods orders were up 2.7%* in January, a reversal after three months of declines, according to the Commerce Department. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting a 2% increase; MarketWatch’s sources forecast 2.5%.

However, much of the demand was due to commercial aircraft, as January orders jumped to $7.4 billion from $148 million in the previous month. Excluding the transportation sector, orders fell 3.6%, the biggest drop in two years.

December orders were revised up to a decline of 0.4% from the prior estimate of a 2.3% decline.



Original Article Source by Barrons.com