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U.S. jobless claims down; up in Ohio

Initial claims for unemployment benefits up in 68 of 88 counties.

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By Randy Tucker, Staff Writer Updated 8:53 PM Thursday, November 10, 2011

DAYTON — The first week of November was only the tenth time this year that the nation’s weekly jobless claims were reported to have fallen below 400,000.

The government has now revised its estimate for claims during the previous week to 400,000 from 397,000.

Still, the number represents weak job growth, said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economic research analyst. “If we were under 350,000, it’d be a clear indication of growth,’’ Zeller said.

The jobs picture for the more than half-million unemployed Ohioans is less murky.

Statewide, 68 of 88 counties showed increases in jobless claims last week, bringing the total figure for Ohio to 10,714, government data show.

That figure was up over 10,241 in the previous week and represents about 3,000 more claims than would have been reported in a healthy economy, Zeller said.

“While the national figure has gotten a little bit better, the Ohio figure is ambiguously bad,” he said.

Jobless claims from the Dayton metro area totaled 869, ranking third behind Columbus and Cincinnati.

Youngstown was the only city in Ohio to show a decline in jobless claims last week, as it has in 15 out of the last 16 weeks, according to Zeller, who attributed the trend to a resurgence in manufacturing activity at General Motors’ Lordstown Assembly plant there.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said Thursday the seasonally adjusted U.S. trade deficit shrank to $43.1 billion in September.

That was its narrowest since December, thanks to record-high exports, and suggests the U.S. economy closed the third quarter a little stronger than many expected.

Taken as a whole, the state and national numbers are ambiguous at best, said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based analyst.

“We certainly didn’t see evidence of strong (job) growth in any of the numbers, which is what we need,” Zeller said. “Clearly, we’re in a recovery. But it’s a very slow recovery, and the jobs picture is still unclear.”

Zeller based his assessment on benchmarks for jobless claims that many economists use to determine the borderline between job growth and job loss.

Nationally, that figure is 400,000 – 10,000 above the seasonally adjusted 390,000 new claims for jobless benefits reported for the week ended Nov. 5.

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