Layoffs in Nov. drop to 2-year low

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

November marked a two-year low for the number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits, suggesting that the tight job market may be easing at last.

The slowing of layoffs and a solid month for retailers are the latest evidence of a strengthening economy in the final months of the year. Even the struggling housing market showed signs of improvement: On Thursday, it posted a third- straight monthly increase in signed contracts for home purchases.

Some economists are now sketching a more-optimistic forecast for today’s report on November employment, though few expect a change in the 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

Still, the encouraging news helped extend a rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 106 points to close at 11,362. That’s after it jumped 249 points Wednesday, its biggest gain since Sept. 1.

“We are starting to get some self-sustaining momentum in the economy,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.

Gault predicts that private companies added a net total of 180,000 jobs last month — a bump-up from his earlier forecast of 160,000 new jobs. In October, private companies added a net 159,000 jobs. That marked a spurt of job creation after hiring had all but stalled pretty much all summer.

The number for job growth is likely to be a little lower after subtracting declines in government payrolls. Gault and other economists on the optimistic end expect the overall economy added 170,000 net jobs last month. Still, the consensus forecast is for an overall gain of 145,000. Last month, the economy added a total of 151,000 jobs.