WASHINGTON, Nov 17, (RTRS): New US claims for jobless benefits hit a seven-month low last week, while permits for future home construction rebounded strongly last month, bolstering views the economy was gaining traction.
The improving economic picture was spoiled somewhat by other data on Thursday showing factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region slowed this month on weak orders. However, employers hired more workers and increased working hours.
“Economic conditions are moving upward at an accelerating pace,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. “However, two major roadblocks stand in the way of solid growth: Rising oil prices and European debt issues.”

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to 388,000, the Labor Department said. Economists had forecast claims rising to 395,000.
Separately, permits for residential construction rose 10.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 653,000 last month, the Commerce Department said. However, new home construction fell 0.3 percent to annual rate of 628,000 units.
Stocks on Wall Street had a weak tone as investors kept a wary eye on Europe, while prices for Treasury debt fell. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index fell to 3.6 this month from 8.7 in October.
A reading above zero indicates factory activity is expanding in the region, which covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
But a measure of factory employment in the region rose to a six-month high, taking some of the sting out of the report, and the average workweek index more than tripled.

Improvement
The claims data covered the survey period for November’s nonfarm payrolls. Claims dropped 16,000 between the October and November survey weeks, implying an improvement in nonfarm employment.
After wobbling in the second quarter, the labor market is regaining momentum, but not enough to cut into a 9 percent unemployment rate and promote faster economic growth.
Recent data such as retail sales and industrial production point to firming growth, further reducing the risk of a new recession.
Economists believe fourth-quarter growth could top an annual pace of 3 percent, stepping up from 2.5 percent in the July-September period.
But the crisis in Europe, which has caused bond market turmoil across the region, could derail the recovery.

Also:
WASHINGTON: In a rare display of cooperation, Republicans and Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly approved a limited jobs bill on Wednesday that would help some veterans find work but otherwise do little to bring down the nation’s 9 percent unemployment rate.
The bill, aimed at government contractors and veterans, is so far the only piece of President Barack Obama’s $447 billion job-creation package to clear Congress. Republicans have lined up behind a contrasting agenda of their own ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.
It passed the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote of 422 to 0. Only one lawmaker voted against the bill when it passed the Senate last week. Obama has said he will sign it into law.
Republicans have rejected Obama proposals that would boost construction spending and help cash-strapped local governments avoid layoffs of teachers, police and other public employees.
Congress could still act on other elements due to expire at the end of the year, such as enhanced unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut for workers, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says are among the most effective ways to boost the economy in the short term.
Allowing them to expire would slow economic growth next year, according to CBO.
The bill approved Wednesday represents a small slice of Obama’s jobs plan.