New jobless claims rise to 554K, total rolls fall

WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week, though the government said its report again was distorted by the timing of auto plant shutdowns.
Unemployment insurance claims have declined steadily since the spring, but most private economists and the Federal Reserve expect jobs to remain scarce and the unemployment rate to top 10 percent by year-end.
The Labor Department said Thursday that its tally of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 554,000. That was above analysts' estimates of 550,000.

to read this complete article, go to the link http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090723/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

This is just another example of conflicting reports. "the economy is getting better" is the speech we are given, "we are losing record numbers of jobs" is the FACT that we are given. Not going to harp for too long on this, but it seems that in this fact versus fantasy battle, the facts are winning out. We are still a long way off from recovery.