Catherwood LibraryILR School

The number of weekly jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted three-month low of 323,000. Department of Labor officials were quoted as saying that weekly jobless claims ?returned to a more normal level.? This drop greatly exceeded economists? predictions, leading some economists to predict that the extreme weather throughout the U.S. has masked the true strength of the labor market, and with a change in the weather, hiring is likely to pick up. The weather did, however, have a real impact on new home building and retail sales, both of which have secondary effects on manufacturing gains. New manufactured goods orders declined for two months straight and by more in January than in December.