Housing starts up, jobless claims rise By Kristin Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts rose in May, but fell shy of expectations, while a separate report on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits edged higher. May housing starts increased 0.2 percent to a 2.009 million unit rate from a downwardly revised 2.005 million unit pace in April, the U.S. Commerce Department said. Wall Street economists had expected housing starts to increase 0.5 percent in May to a 2.048 million unit rate after climbing 9.4 percent the previous month. A Labor Department report showed jobless claims rose by 1,000 to 333,000 in the week ended June 11. Wall Street had expected claims to hold steady. "The reports all miss expectations but ever so slightly, still showing sustained growth in the U.S. economy and expectations for strong employment figures down the line," said Tim Mazanec, senior currency strategist at Investors Bank & Trust in Boston. Single-family housing starts rose 4.7 percent to a 1.704 million unit pace in May while multifamily starts dropped 19.3 percent to a 305,000 unit pace, the Commerce Department said. Permits for future groundbreaking, an indicator of builder confidence, fell 4.6 percent to a 2.050 million unit pace. The drop was the largest monthly decline since June 2004 and exceeded forecasts for a 2.1 percent dip. Low mortgage rates have supported the housing sector's four-year run. Even though the Fed has raised its target for short-term interest rates in eight quarter-point steps to 3.0 percent, long-term interest rates have not responded. In fact, average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages remain lower than a year ago, according to finance company Freddie Mac. Economists had said the housing sector should show signs of slowing in 2005, but so far this year, building and sales have remained robust. The Labor Department report showed jobless claims edged up slightly. Despite occasional volatility, claims have been holding in a fairly tight range for several months. A steep 19,000 decline in the June 4 week was caused by the Memorial Day holiday along with fewer auto industry layoffs. The closely watched four-week moving average, viewed as a better gauge of labor market conditions because it smooths weekly volatility, also rose, climbing 2,750 to 335,000. The number of people still on the jobless rolls after drawing an initial week of benefits rose 58,000 to 2.64 million in the week ended June 4, the latest week for which data are available. (Additional reporting by Nancy Waitz) Quelle "Housing starts up, jobless claims rise" : reuters.com Main page for "Housing starts up, jobless claims rise"