by Caitlin Kenney

The Department of Labor says new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level since January. Applications for unemployment were at 522,00, analysts had expected a number closer to about 575,000. The number may look like good news on the face, but as we told you last week there are problems with these seasonally adjusted figures. Based on seasonal trends, the department expected a large number of layoffs in the automotive sector and elsewhere in manufacturing — these temporary layoffs usually occur during the summer months. This year these industries have already lost so many jobs that claims rose by much less than expected, creating this large drop. The unadjusted figures actually showed that new claims rose by 86,389 last week.

 

Meantime, J.P. Morgan Chase is joining Goldman Sachs in the profit circle. The bank announced that it brought in a profit of $2.7 billion in the second quarter. Most of that profit came from its investment bank which brought in a record breaking revenue of $1.5 billion. In June, the company repaid $25 billion it got from the government under TARP.