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Francis Cianfrocca joins Ben Domenech for the Thursday, August 20th edition of Coffee & Markets, a series of brief morning podcasts on politics and the marketplace. Today’s podcast focuses on the marketplace, volatility, and the new jobless numbers.

Items discussed include:

White House Projects Lowers Deficit

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose by 15,000 to 576,000

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — More Americans unexpectedly filed claims for jobless benefits last week, indicating companies are trying to cut costs further even as the economy stabilizes.

Applications rose to 576,000 in the week ended Aug. 15 from a revised 561,000 the week before, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits the week earlier was little changed at 6.24 million.

Companies may keep paring staff in coming months, albeit at a slower pace, and hiring linked to the government’s recovery effort may not gain speed until 2010. While the unemployment rate dipped last month, economists project it will reach 10 percent by early next year, restraining consumer spending.