Filed by KOSU News in US News.
November 5, 2009

Falling jobs claims, stronger retail sales and a boost in worker productivity helped push Wall Street trading higher on Thursday following a slew of government reports.

Stocks climbed after the Labor Department’s weekly jobs claims report said first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell to 512,000 last week, their lowest level since January. Economists had expected 523,000 new claims.

Even so, the latest unemployment figures, due out Friday, were expected to show joblessness had reached 9.9 percent amid the lingering effects of the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.

But there are signs that Americans are starting to spend again — a key to recovery in an economy that relies heavily on consumer activity. Many retail outlets posted better-than-expected results, with Costco Wholesale Corp., TJX Cos., which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, and Gap, Inc. leading the pack. Costco’s sales climbed 5 percent in October, better than the Thomson Reuters estimate of 4.7 percent.

Children’s Place Retail Stores, Wet Seal Inc. and Stage Stores Inc. all reported declines. Limited Brands Inc., which operates Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported a bigger-than-expected sales drop of 4 percent.

The October figures follow better-than-expected September sales and could be a positive sign for holiday shopping.

Worker productivity also surged in the third quarter at its fastest pace in six years, while labor costs continued to drop.

According to the Labor Department, a measure of the output per hour of work rose at an annual rate of 9.5 percent in the July-September period. That was substantially higher than the 6.4 percent most economists had expected.

Productivity typically improves in the early part of an economic recovery, as businesses continue to cut workers and reduce costs even as output rises.

From NPR wire services. Copyright 2009 National Public Radio