There is still no sign of any relief for the US jobs market as the latest weekly unemployment figures showed an unexpectedly big jump in new people claiming benefit.
A total of 428,000 people joined the jobless rolls last week, 11,000 more than the previous week and 10,000 more than economists had predicted. The figures are far above the 400,000 level at which economists believe unemployment can start to decline.
The jobless rate in the world's largest economy is currently 9.1 per cent, crimping the economic recovery. Meanwhile, the options for government action to ease the unemployment problem appeared to narrow yesterday. Inflation data for August came in above expectations, rising from 3.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the measure that the Federal Reserve uses for targeting interest rate policy rose to 2 per cent, its highest level since November 2008.
The higher-than-anticipated inflation levels limit the Fed's room for manoeuvre next week when it plans to consider a new round of interventions in the credit markets in an attempt to cut interest rates for homebuyers and businesses.
