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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (2935)	9/6/2002 9:01:16 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Jobless Rate Falls to 5.7 Percent By LEIGH STROPE 09/06/2002 07:37:11 EST WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's unemployment rate unexpectedly improved to 5.7 percent in August and companies added 39,000 new jobs for the fourth consecutive month. Last month's jobless rate fell by 0.2 percentage point after remaining stuck at 5.9 percent for the two previous months. Analysts had expected the rate to stay at 5.9 percent or edge up slightly for August. Hiring increased in the construction industry, government and the service sector last month, but those gains were largely offset by employment cuts in manufacturing and retail. The creation of 39,000 new jobs was in line with what economists expected. Analysts are still predicting that the jobless rate will keep rising in the months ahead, however, because future job growth won't be strong enough to support significant and sustained drops in the overall rate. That rate has bounced in both directions in recent months and "has shown no clear trend," said Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continuing layoffs, as evidenced by three straight weeks of increasing claims for unemployment benefits, also are raising concerns about the health of the job market, economists said.