Any assertion about the truth or untruth of a proposition may be called a "claim".
George claims that the Vikings discovered America.
Angela claims that Meryl Streep is the best living film actor.
Darcy claims that the Republicans will win the presidency next year.
But only an assertion about future eventualities may be called a "prediction". Darcy's claim is a prediction, but George's claim and Angela's claim are not.
Note that future is to be understood here in relation to the time when the prediction is uttered. The internet has been around for a quarter-century, but it is still proper for me to say:
Nicolas Tesla predicted the internet.
—because Tesla made this prediction in 1900.
Note, too, that predict is often in the sciences to speak of what appears to be mere correlation. A sociologist, for instance, may write:
Education is a strong predictor of poverty.
This is a figurative use. What the sociologist means is that if you divide a population into groups by how much education the individuals in each group has, you may "predict" with some accuracy how many poor people will be found in each group—a hypothetical future event.
Your example involves a claim about the future: the number of new jobs created this year will fall short of last year's record. This claim is a prediction.
Best Answer
There is no "general context" meaning of the word; the word "claim" can have one of many meanings depending on its context. As for your example:
The word "amount" suggests to me that money is involved, and therefore I can assume that the meaning is this one (as per dictionary.com):
Thus, if you claim an amount, you declare that you have a right to that amount.