The unemployment rate is projected to stay at 9 percent for the second straight month, reports say.
Data shows that despite the fastest hike in U.S. factory growth since June, increased auto and retail sales and construction spending, the influx of applications for unemployment benefits is still too high to indicate a decrease in unemployment.
Economists offering a mixed picture for the economy said a net 125,000 jobs were added by employers, according to the AP.
Europe’s debt crisis could potentially worsen the situation.
According to the AP, The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Thursday that its manufacturing index rose to 52.7 in November, up from 50.8 in October. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Junior accounting and finance major Anthony Egan said “I don’t see [the unemployment rate] coming down in the near future. The new president needs to create more jobs and make it more appealing for people to start small businesses.”
Bradley Holcomb, chair of the ISM’s survey committee, said manufacturers “are cautiously more optimistic about the next few months based on lower raw materials pricing and favorable levels of new orders,” according to the AP.
Information from economist Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics suggests factory output will expand at an increased rate next month.
For 28 straight months, manufacturing has grown according to the index. Factories were one of the first businesses to start growing after the recession ended in June 2009.
The Labor Department said the number of applicants for unemployment benefits rose to 400,000 last week, for the first time in four weeks. For the past two months, applications were decreasing, according to the AP.
Junior supply chain management and marketing major Mike McHugh said, “We’re recovering from the economic downturn. As we continue to grow globally, there are many opportunities for expansion.”
Despite a third straight month increase in construction spending, the Commerce Department said overall construction spending remained depressed.
Retailers reported a strong start to the holiday sales over Thanksgiving weekend, the AP said, and consumer confidence rose in November to the highest level since July. Americans’ pay rose in October by the most in seven months.