Glum news on home sales, jobs

WASHINGTON - Worse-than-expected news on unemployment and home sales Thursday dampened optimism that a broad economic recovery might be near.

Many analysts don't expect the housing slide to show signs of stabilizing until the second half of this year. They said layoffs may be at their high point, but that the jobless rate, already at a 25-year high, will keep rising until the middle of 2010.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000 last week, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. That was slightly more than analysts' expectations of 635,000.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 3 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units, with February revised down to 4.71 million units. Sales had been expected to fall to an annual rate of 4.7 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The best reading of the new data is that late last year's alarming free-fall is coming to an end, analysts said

"The economic downturn remains intense, but it is no longer intensifying," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are still falling, but we are no longer crashing."

Zandi said the weekly number of new applications for unemployment benefits, a key measure of layoffs, has begun to level off at a very high point. The unemployment rate, however, will keep rising for the rest of this year and into 2010 because it measures layoffs and the ability of new entrants into the labor market to find a job, he added.

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Home Site Map Advertise For Sale Subscribe to our Monthly Email Newsletter	Link Reducer - Job Search Portal Glum news on home sales, jobs WASHINGTON - Worse-than-expected news on unemployment and home sales Thursday dampened optimism that a broad economic recovery might be near. Many analysts don't expect the housing slide to show signs of stabilizing until the second half of this year. They said layoffs may be at their high point, but that the jobless rate, already at a 25-year high, will keep rising until the middle of 2010. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000 last week, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. That was slightly more than analysts' expectations of 635,000. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 3 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units, with February revised down to 4.71 million units. Sales had been expected to fall to an annual rate of 4.7 million units, according to Thomson Reuters. The best reading of the new data is that late last year's alarming free-fall is coming to an end, analysts said "The economic downturn remains intense, but it is no longer intensifying," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are still falling, but we are no longer crashing." Zandi said the weekly number of new applications for unemployment benefits, a key measure of layoffs, has begun to level off at a very high point. The unemployment rate, however, will keep rising for the rest of this year and into 2010 because it measures layoffs and the ability of new entrants into the labor market to find a job, he added. Continue to Athens Banner-Herald - Glum news on home sales, jobs © 2009 http://onlineathens.com - Athens Banner-Herald - All rights reserved. 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