The number of newly unemployed people in the United States seeking jobless benefits rose slightly last week, new government figures showed, though employment conditions around the United States appear healthy. The U.S. Labor Department reported that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 4,000 to 307,000 for the week ending July 28. That was a better showing than the rise to 310,000 that economists had predicted. New claims also are lower now than a year ago, when they stood at 315,000 and the number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits sank by 16,000 to 2.5 million for the work week ending July 21, the most recent period for which this information is available. In other economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department said new factory orders rose 0.6 percent, compared with a 0.5 percent drop in May. Economists, however, had hoped for a 1 percent gain. The June gain was still the best showing since March, and showed demand for “durable” good, including machinery, airplanes, turbines, generators and electrical equipment, rose by 1.3 percent in June. Orders for durable goods dropped 2.4 percent in May. Demand for “nondurable” goods, including clothing and meat, poultry and seafood products, edged down 0.1 percent in June. That compared with a 1.5 percent increase in the previous month. A more forward-looking report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed that the manufacturing sector lost some momentum in July, growing at its slowest pace in four months. The report is consistent with analysts' expectations for a slow but steady expansion of the economy through the rest of this year. The Federal Reserve meets next week and is widely expected to hold an important interest rate at 5.25 percent, extending a more than yearlong breather for borrowers. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are known to be worried about the effect of inflation. One of the things they are watching closely is whether the labor market could add to inflation pressures.
