"It looks more and more like businesses are hesitating to invest in the face of worsening uncertainties in the and global economy"
- Pierre Ellis, a senior economist at Decision Economics
The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined slightly by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000 in the week ended May 19 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday.
"We might see a modest pickup in (jobs) growth in May versus April," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"It looks more and more like businesses are hesitating to invest in the face of worsening uncertainties in the and global economy," said Pierre Ellis, a senior economist at Decision Economics in New York.
Also Thursday, the Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting goods rose 0.2 per cent in April to a seasonally adjusted 215.5 billion dollars after declining 3.7 per cent in March.
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