Unemployment Still Primary Economic Concern

Washington, DC, Aug. 23, 2010--The biggest area of economic concern continues to be the employment situation, according to Dave Huether, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.

"After improving during the second half of 2009, initial unemployment claims remained relatively constant through the first seven months of 2010, hovering around 460,000," Huether noted. However, last week's report was 500,000 initial filings

"That's well above the threshold level of 350,000, the upper limit of new claims associated with a healthy labor market." He also said the first seven months showed rather modest private sector employment growth.
 
In general, he said last week’s economic reports were slightly more positive than negative, with five of the eight major indicators improving. However, he said some of the improvements were suspect.

The July upturn in housing starts was countered by continued decreases in building permits and a further decline in builder sentiment in August. Meanwhile, the 1.1% gain in manufacturing production was chiefly driven by a 9.9% surge in motor vehicle output, as some companies decided not to shut down plant s for retooling operations, which is typical this time of the year.