NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employment improved in April and last week, reports showed on Thursday, although a barometer of future economic performance eased last month, sending mixed messages about the economy.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said its April gauge of the economy rose on strong employment gains, to show economic growth for the month marginally above trend.
The Chicago Fed said its National Activity Index rose to 0.10 in April from a downwardly revised minus 0.04 in March, which was the first negative reading since September 2004.
Any reading above zero suggests economic growth is above the historical trend, the Chicago Fed said.
The three-month moving average of the index was steady at 0.08 in April. The average has shown above-trend growth for the past 20 months, but the March and April levels were the lowest since late 2003.
Also on the jobs front, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell 20,000 last week, the government said.
First-time claims for state jobless aid fell to 321,000 in the week ended May 14 from an upwardly revised 341,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. Analysts on average had been looking for jobless claims of 330,000.
``We've had decent gains in employment over the last four months and the data today does not contradict that,'' said Kevin Logan, economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in New York. ``I would suspect that we will continue to see healthy gains in employment."
Presenting a less-rosy view on economic growth was an index of leading indicators, a measure of the future direction of the economy. It fell 0.2 percent in April, the fourth straight monthly drop.
The New York-based Conference Board said its index fell to 114.5 in April after a downwardly revised 0.6 percent decline in March.
Five of the 10 indicators in the index decreased in April -- consumer expectations, real money supply, interest rate spread, stock prices and vendor performance.
The mixed messages on the economy had little impact on the debt market, with investors focused on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's business outlook survey for May for further direction.
The survey, due at noon on Thursday, could offer further hints as to the direction of manufacturing following recent evidence of a downturn in the sector.
Earlier this week the New York Federal Reserve said its ``Empire State'' index plunged in May to the lowest level since April 2003 and revealed the first month of contraction in two years.
Data on industrial output on Tuesday proved surprisingly soft, though largely because of weakness in utilities and auto manufacturers. Industrial production fell 0.2 percent in April, disappointing analysts, who had looked for a 0.3 percent gain. The March gain was also revised downward to a 0.1 percent gain from 0.3 percent.
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