othEr Economic dEvElopmEnts
Unemployment benefits: The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 last week, driving down the four-week average to its lowest level in five years. The drop is a positive sign ahead of Friday’s report on February job growth.
Applications for benefits fell 7,000 in the week ended March 2, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s near five-year lows reached in January. And the four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 348,750. That’s the lowest since March 2008, just a few months into the recession.
The decline adds to other evidence that hiring may have been better last month than economists forecast. Analysts predict that employers added 152,000 jobs, according to a survey by FactSet. That’s about the same as in January. The unemployment rate is projected to fall to 7.8 percent from 7.9 percent.
Retail sales: Americans cut back on spending in February as cold weather and economic challenges chilled their appetite for spring merchandise. The nation’s retailers on Thursday reported that sales slowed in February, a time when most stores get rid of winter merchandise and bring in swimsuits, ankle length pants and other spring fashions.
But Americans spent more judiciously during the month as they contended with an increase in the payroll tax of 2 percentage points, income tax refunds that came later than usual and rising gas prices. Winter storms throughout much of the country in February also likely made spring merchandise less appealing to them.
Wall Street: The Dow Jones industrial average pushed further into record territory Thursday, having surpassed its previous alltime high two days ago. The catalyst was the latest evidence that hiring is picking up.
The Dow rose 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,329. The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,544. Both indexes rose for the fifth day straight.
The Dow barreled through a record high Tuesday and has added to its gains since then. The S&P 500 is also closing in on its own record high of 1,565, which was also reached on Oct. 9, 2007, the same day of the Dow’s previous peak. The S&P would need to rise 21 points, or 1.3 percent, to set a record.