WASHINGTON -- The nation's unemployment outlook brightened Thursday as the number of new jobless claims dropped by 14,000 last week and a leading private barometer reported that the private sector added 176,000 new jobs in June.
But the picture is expected to come into clearer focus Friday when the government releases the unemployment report for June on the heels of a dismal May in which the economy added only 69,000 net new jobs.
Economists are projecting an improvement in June, with a consensus estimate of about 95,000 net new jobs. Thursday's data was in line with those estimates.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped by 14,000 to 374,000, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest figure since the week ending May 19. The less-volatile four-week average also dropped slightly last week, to 385,750.
The level of new jobless claims is still high, with economists saying they need to be about 350,000 a week to indicate strong job growth.
But the trend line improved, and was bolstered by a closely watched report from Automatic Data Processing Inc. that the U.S. private sector added 176,000 net new jobs in June, up from the revised 136,000 figure in May.
Two key sectors reversed recent declines, with manufacturing adding 4,000 net new jobs and construction adding 8,000 net new jobs, ADP said.
"In spite of lingering fiscal uncertainties, it is encouraging to see companies creating jobs, particularly in the goods-producing sector where we see positive growth following two months of job loss," said Carlos A. Rodriguez, chief executive officer of ADP.
Economists look to debt crisis. The unemployment rate ticked up last month to 8.2%, and despite projected stronger job growth, economists are estimating the rate to hold steady at that level.
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