The American Business Journal: Stock futures creep higher with job data

Stock futures creep higher with job data
================================================================================
Business News on 02 September, 2010 08:17:00
 
ABJ Sep 2 - U.S. stock futures advanced slightly following a big drop in  weekly
jobless claims, data which continues to suggest a stalling  employment recovery
nationwide.
Initial unemployment claims  fell by 6,000 to 472,000 on the week, according to
the Labor Department.  Economists had expected the claims to drop to 470,000.
New claims for  the previous week were revised to upward of 478,000 from
473,000.
Non-farm business labour productivity decreased by a seasonally  adjusted rate
of 1.8 per cent compared to the last quarter. Economists  expected second
quarter productivity to decline 1.9 per cent. The Labor  Department, in an
original estimate of second quarter productivity last  month, said those
statistics fell by 0.9 per cent.