* Jobless claims fall 2,000 last week, less than expected
* Claims data suggests some loss of momentum job growth
* Mid-Atlantic factory activity slows this month
* Existing home sales fall 2.6 percent in March
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) – The number of Americans
claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only
slightly last week, dampening hopes of a pick-up in job creation
in April after March’s slowdown.
The economic outlook darkened further, with other data on
Thursday showing factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region
slowed sharply this month and home resales fell for a second
month in March.
While analysts said part of the weakness in the data was
payback after an abnormally warm winter, there was no doubt the
economy was losing some steam, leaving the door open for further
monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
“Weather appears to be a strong factor which allowed some
stronger-than-expected hiring and economic activity. Now we are
seeing a correction of that,” said Robert Dye, chief economist
at Comerica in Dallas.
“You also have those pesky seasonally adjustments. And you
also have some genuine step-down in activity.”
The data come ahead of the U.S. central bank’s policy
meeting next week. No major policy announcement is expected, but
economists say further bond purchases or other quantitative
easing measures later in the year cannot be ruled out,
especially if labor market conditions weaken significantly.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000
to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said. The
prior week’s data was revised to show 8,000 more applications
received than previously reported.
The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a
better measure of labor market trends, rose 5,500 to 374,750.
In a separate report, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
said its Mid-Atlantic business activity index fell to 8.5 this
month from 12.5 in March. While factories in eastern
Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware received fewer
orders and shipped out less goods than the prior month, they
hired more workers.
Stocks on Wall Street were little changed, while prices for
Treasury debt rose. The dollar was flat against a basket of
currencies.
HOME SALES FALL
The claims data covered the week for April’s nonfarm
payrolls survey. The four-week average of new applications rose
marginally between the March and April survey periods,
suggesting not much change in labor market conditions.
The March payrolls data earlier this month showed employers
added 120,000 new jobs, the least since October, after averaging
246,000 jobs per month over the prior three months.
Most economists have viewed the pull-back in job growth as
payback after the weather-induced gains in the previous months.
“Some of the improvement in labor market earlier this year
was probably due to the unseasonably mild weather,” said Jeremy
Lawson, a senior economist at BNP Paribas in New York. “This
data is consistent with the softer payrolls number in March.”
A third report showed home resales fell 2.6 percent to an
annual rate of 4.48 million units last month. But this report
from the National Association of Realtors showed the supply of
properties on the market tightened and prices inched higher,
giving mixed signals about the pace of recovery in the
still-struggling housing sector.
Inventories fell to 2.37 million and Realtors in some
markets reported shortages of housing stock. The median price
for a home resale rose to $163,800 in March, up 2.5 percent from
a year ago.
