The number is growing less than expected US workers who made the initial request for unemployment benefits in the past week. According to data reported by the US Department of Labor, in fact, initial requests rose by 11 thousand units in the week ended January 31, reaching 278 thousand.
The data, as mentioned, was better than the forecasts of analysts, who were expecting a much more substantial increase up to 290 thousand units. The average of the last four weeks, considered more reliable as it is not subject to market fluctuations, recorded a drop of 6.500 units to 292.750. In any case, the figure remains well below 400 units, a threshold which according to analysts signals a stalemate.
Grow the trade deficit of the United States which, in the month of December, reached the highest levels for two years now. This was communicated by the Department of Commerce, which specified that the deficit grew by 17,1% in December, settling at 45,56 billion, from 39,75 in November. This is the largest increase ever, on a month-on-month basis. Analysts were expecting a slightly lower figure than the previous month, at 38,5 billion.
Discordant trend for the two flows: exports fell by 0,8% to 194,88 billion while imports increased by 2,2% to 241,44 billion. Looking at the full year of 2014, exports jumped 2,9% year over year to $2.345 billion while imports jumped 3,4% to $2.850 trillion.
In flexion the productivity in the United States. Indeed, according to figures released by the Labor Department, the index obtained by dividing production by the number of hours worked fell by 1,8%, after the 3,7% rise in the third quarter. Also in this case, the analysts were disappointed, as they were expecting unchanged data.
Instead, it grows unit labor cost, up 2,7% from the third quarter and 1,9% year over year. In this case, analysts expected an increase of 1,2%. Hours worked increased by 5,1% in the quarter, the largest increase since 1998, while hourly wages increased by 0,9% (+2,1% adjusted for inflation).
