9/26-Initial Claims

The DOL reports : weekly unemployment insurance claims increased to 551,000

In the week ending Sept. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 551,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 534,000. The 4-week moving average was 548,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 554,250.

.....
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Sept. 19 was 6,090,000, a decrease of 70,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 6,160,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,154,500, a decrease of 39,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,193,750.
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• 至9/26當週，美國首次申請失業救濟人數增加17,000人，至551,000人，增幅超出多數經濟學家的預期，表明勞動力市場的復甦步伐依然遲緩。
  
  
• 首次申請四週平均值減少6,250人，至548,000人，較四月份高峰減少了110,750 人。
  
  
• 至9/19當週持續申請失業救濟人數減少70,000人，至6,090,000人。仍居於相當高之水平。
  
  
• 申請失業救濟人數仍維持在相對較高水平的事實進一步顯示出就業市場的復甦還需要一段時間。
  
  
  
  

目前就業市場截員速度相較上個月及先前已減緩許多, 只是企業召募員工的意願仍相當低迷。 (more employment news from Calculated risk)

And in other employment news ... from Reuters: Challenger, Gray reports

planned layoffs declined in Sept. Planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell to 66,404 last month, down 13 percent from 76,456 in August, according to a report released Thursday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

September's layoff tally was 30 percent lower than the 95,094 job cuts during the same time last year. This brought the figure for the July-September quarter to 240,233, the lowest since the first quarter of 2008 and marking the fourth consecutive quarter in which job cuts declined from the year prior level.

But a big part of the problem is lack of hiring, not firings. From Monster.com:

The Monster Employment Index edged downward in September after a significant rise in late summer recruitment activity during August. Over the year, the Index fell 25 percent largely unchanged from last month’s pace.