U.S. first-time jobless claims fall unexpectedly to 384,0000
Reuters, Washington
The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week last week, the government said on Thursday in a report that provided further signs the pace of layoffs in the weak U.S. economy may be slowing.
Claims for first-time jobless benefits fell unexpectedly to a seasonally adjusted 384,000 in the week ended Dec. 15 from 395,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said. That was the lowest level since the week ended July 28.
The data offered a surprise to Wall Street economists who on average estimated initial unemployment claims rose to 430,000 last week.
The four-week average -- considered a more reliable barometer of trends in jobless claims filings since it smooths out week-to- week fluctuations -- fell to 438,000 last week from 450,250 in the Dec. 8 week.
That was the lowest level for the average since the week ending Sept. 22, immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which hit the economy hard and spurred a sharp rise in unemployment.
On a less positive note, other data in the report suggested U.S. workers who are laid off are having a tough time finding new jobs.
The number of workers continuing to receive unemployment checks rose to 3.7 million in the week ended Dec. 8, the period of most recent data. That was up from 3.6 million in the prior week.
The increase in continuing claims led to a rise in the insured unemployment rate, a measurement of the portion of the workforce receiving jobless benefits. That rate was 2.9 percent in the Dec. 8 week, up 0.1 percent from the previous week.
Approximately 1.2 million Americans have lost their jobs since the U.S. economic recession began in March, the majority of those losses coming since the Sept. 11 attacks. Economists watch employment trends closely since workers' job security is considered the key determinant of consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. consumer spending.