While the job market remains a long way from recovering, first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering some cause for optimism.

The jump in imports could be a sign that U.S. consumer spending is recovering, economists said. That’s good news because such spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

“Domestic demand has picked up now that we have shifted from recession to recovery,” Bernard Baumohl, chief economist for the Global Outlook Group, said in a note to clients.

The Obama administration is increasingly citing its $787 billion stimulus package as a critical reason the economy is turning around, even as officials acknowledge that jobs remain scarce.

The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers said Thursday the administration’s efforts have saved or created 1 million jobs. President Barack Obama has promised that the stimulus plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year.

“A full and vibrant recovery is still many months away,” Obama said Wednesday night before a joint session of Congress. “But thanks to the bold and decisive action we’ve taken … I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink.”

Republican lawmakers point out that a net total of 2.4 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus legislation was signed in February. The unemployment rate is still rising and jumped to 9.7 percent in August, the highest in 26 years, from 9.4 percent the previous month.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the trade deficit rose 16.3 percent to $32 billion in July. Economists expected an imbalance of $27.4 billion.

Imports rose 4.7 percent to $159.6 billion, the largest monthly advance on records that date to 1992 and the second consecutive gain after 10 straight declines. The rebound reflected a 21.5 percent spike in imports of autos and auto parts, partly due to increased production at U.S. auto plants owned by General Motors and Chrysler that had been slowed when the companies were struggling to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Exports edged up 2.2 percent to $127.6 billion. It marked the third straight monthly increase, but left exports well below their record level of $164.4 billion set in July 2008.

The export gains reflected big increases in shipments of civilian aircraft, computers, industrial machinery and medical equipment.

Some economists saw the increased imports as a sign that retailers and manufacturers are rebuilding their inventories, which could lead to greater production.

“Eventually the factories have to come back online to restock the shelves,” said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities, which raised its forecast for third-quarter economic growth to 3 percent from 2 percent.

American companies have been hampered by a drop in demand at home and overseas as the recession that began in the U.S. spread worldwide. However, economists hope that a rebound in global economies and further weakening in the value of the dollar will boost exports in coming months. A weaker dollar makes U.S. products less expensive overseas.

So far this year, the deficit is running at an annual rate of $355.5 billion, about half of last year’s total. Economists believe the deficit will keep rising in the months ahead, reflecting stronger growth in the U.S. and rising oil prices. They expect the imbalance in 2010 will approach levels seen before the recession hit.

On the jobs front, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to a seasonally adjusted 550,000 from an upwardly revised 576,000 in the previous week. The number of people continuing to receive benefits fell by 159,000 to nearly 6.1 million, the lowest level since early April.

Still, unemployment claims remain significantly above levels associated with a healthy economy and indicate that jobs remain scarce. Weekly initial claims are generally at 325,000 or below in a growing economy. A year ago, 3.5 million people were receiving unemployment aid.

“The labor market’s healing process is agonizingly slow,” Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Inc., wrote in a note to clients.

A Labor Department analyst said that the jobless figures for seven states, including California and Virginia, were estimated because state governments were unable to provide data due to the holiday-shortened week. Such estimates haven’t previously resulted in large revisions, the analyst said.

On Wall Street, stocks rose for the fifth day after the better-than-expected jobless claims report and an upbeat forecast from Procter & Gamble. The Dow Jones industrial average added more 80 points, and broader indices also gained.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies’ willingness to hire new workers.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell by 2,750 to 570,000 last week. That’s almost 90,000 below the peak for the current recession, reached in early April.

When federal emergency programs are included, the total number of jobless benefit recipients was 9.16 million people in the week that ended Aug. 22, up from 9.14 million in the previous week. Congress has added up to 53 extra weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states.

The Fed and many private economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year. The recession so far has eliminated a net total of 6.9 million jobs.

More job cuts were announced this week. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., a maker of semiconductor materials based in St. Peters, Mo., said it plans to shut two plants starting next year, eliminating about 540 jobs. Valero Energy Corp. said it will close part of an oil refinery and lay off 150 employees and 100 contract workers. ”

_____

AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.”——-YET ON THE OTHER HAND THEY ARE TELLING YOU TO EXPECT MILLIONS OF MORE HOME FORECLOSURES;”Treasury: Millions more foreclosures coming
Official says a strong housing market is crucial for the economy
Slideshow

Housing values in 2012
BusinessWeek weighed historical data to forecast the median price of homes in major metro areas in 2012.
more photos

Most popular
• Most viewed • Top rated • Most e-mailed

Bride-to-be Yale student vanishes from lab
213 missing after Sierra Leone shipwreck
Mom charged with fatally stabbing 2 daughters
Afghan reporters blame NATO for peer’s death
Obama accepts apology for Wilson outburst
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Hubble’s latest, greatest views revealed
Virus may be cause of some prostate cancer
Ludacris’ one-man stimulus package
Ex-Pa. judges indicted in kids-for-cash scheme
1 in 5 fewer may get Alzheimer’s due to finding
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Report: 800 champ has male, female sex organs
Obama uses iffy math on deficit pledge
Harry Pitts? The worst baby names of all time
Belgium euthanasia cases jump after new law
Ex-migrant worker about to blast into space
Most viewed on msnbc.com

Latest interest rates
Mortgage Home Equity Savings Auto Credit Cards

See today’s average mortgage rates across the country.Loan type Today +/- Last week
30-year fixed 5.23% 5.20%
15-year fixed 4.68% 4.67%
30-year fixed jumbo 6.18% 6.09%
5/1 ARM 4.38% 4.47%
7/1 ARM 4.87% 4.84%
Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today’s average home equity rates across the country.Loan type Today +/- Last week
$30K HELOC 5.24% 5.25%
$30K home equity loan 8.44% 8.42%
$75K home equity loan 8.47% 8.48%
$50K home equity loan 8.43% 8.44%
$50K HELOC 4.98% 4.99%
Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today’s savings rates across the country.Savings type Today +/- Last week
Money market 1.15% 1.15%
$10K money market 1.17% 1.17%
Six-month CD 1.20% 1.24%
One-year CD 1.61% 1.61%
Five-year CD 2.62% 2.63%
Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today’s average auto rates across the country.Loan type Today +/- Last week
48-month new car loan 7.36% 7.38%
36-month used car loan 7.74% 8.14%
36-month new car loan 7.19% 7.19%
60-month new car loan 7.45% 7.47%
Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today’s average credit card rates across the country.Card type Fixed Variable
Standard 13.46% 11.41%
Gold 12.12% 9.89%
Platinum 11.19% 11.77%
All 12.34% 11.37%
Source: Bankrate.com | View more rates

Economy in Turmoil
Americans lacking health insurance rose in ’08
The nation’s poverty rate rose to the highest level since 1997 in 2008, while the number of people lacking health insurance rose to 46.3 million, the Census Bureau reports.
——————————————————————————–

Fed survey: Most of U.S. economy is mending
Bernanke: Economy is on cusp of recovery
Jobless claims drop, trade gap widens
Buyer power is new reality of housing market

Video

Commercial Real Estate on Shaky Ground
The commercial real estate market is on shaky ground, with some industry-watchers warning of a rash of foreclosures and bankruptcies. Patrick Sargent, president of the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, shares his insight.
CNBC

updated 2:11 p.m. CT, Wed., Sept . 9, 2009
WASHINGTON – Only 12 percent of U.S. homeowners eligible for loan modifications under the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan have had their mortgages reworked, and millions more foreclosures are coming, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

A Treasury report showed 360,165 people had their monthly payments reduced through August, up from 235,247 through July, but a senior Treasury official conceded much more must be done to soften the impact of a severe and prolonged housing crisis.

Treasury has begun releasing monthly reports on the loan modification program, called the Home Affordable Modification Program or HAMP.

Story continues below ↓
——————————————————————————–
advertisement | your ad here

——————————————————————————–

In July, it said that just 9 percent of the estimated number of homeowners eligible had had their loans modified, so Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, Michael Barr, was able to claim modest progress in August.

He told a House Financial Services subcommittee that the program launched in February, which brings banks and loan servicers together with at-risk homeowners, was on target to help a half million Americans homeowners by November 1.

But that is a small start on a huge problem at the heart of U.S. economic woes.

Barr said that “even if HAMP is a total success, we should still expect millions of foreclosures” as administration and industry efforts continue to stabilize a crisis-stricken housing sector.

Barr said a strong housing market was “crucial” to a sustained U.S. economic recovery and described the slump in prices and demand in the housing sector as being “at the center of our financial crisis and economic downturn.”

He noted that analysts anticipate more than six million Americans could lose their homes in the next three years.

“Much more remains to be done and we will continue to work with other agencies, regulators and the private sector to reach as many families as possible,” Barr said.

The Treasury report showed that some lenders had not helped any of their borrowers who were eligible for loan modifications. Others had helped varying numbers of those who were 60 or more days delinquent on their mortgages, ranging up to 100 percent for one bank that only had one eligible borrower. “—–AND THEN WE GET THIS NEWS;”Oil climbs above $72 as US dollar slumps
By ALEX KENNEDY (AP) – 13 hours ago

SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid a slumping U.S. dollar and steady OPEC production levels.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 84 cents at $72.15 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract rose 21 cents to settle at $71.31.

Crude has jumped from $68 a barrel in two days as the dollar weakened to its lowest level this year. Because crude is priced in the U.S. currency, it becomes cheaper when the dollar falls.

The euro was steady Thursday at $1.4578 while the dollar was rose slightly to 92.11 yen.

Leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have signaled the group will keep crude output unchanged at its meeting this week.

Qatar’s oil minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah told reporters Wednesday in Vienna that OPEC has agreed to keep production quotas steady and will officially announce the decision later Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other key members of the group said they’re content with current oil prices.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery was steady at $1.83 a gallon, and heating oil gained 0.95 cent to $1.80 a gallon. Natural gas rose 4.3 cents to $2.87 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 62 cents to $70.45.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved”————–NOW TELL ME..,DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A RECOVERY?