|
 Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 287,000 in the week ended Oct. 4, the Labor
Department said on Thursday. Economists had expected claims to rise.
The data adds to the view that strength is building in the U.S.
economy. "The labor market is entering into a potential boom," said
Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S economist at Deutsche Bank in New York.
Still, Federal Reserve officials remain concerned about persistently
low rates of inflation and are not seen in a rush to hike interest
rates with the economies of key trading partners flagging.
A separate report showed U.S. wholesale inventories rose by the most
in four months in August, a sign the economy may have grown more
than expected in the third quarter.
Many economists think the economy grew at an annual rate of around 3
percent in the July-September period, much faster than average rates
over the last few years.
U.S. stocks opened lower as investors took profits after a big rally
on Wednesday that had been fueled by minutes of the Fed's last
policy meeting, which suggested an interest rate hike could be
delayed because of growing concerns on the international outlook.
The U.S. dollar, which had been on a long run up through last week,
slid to a three-week low against the Japanese yen on Thursday, while
yields on U.S. government debt rose modestly.
Jobless claims have fallen steadily since the nation emerged from
the recession and are currently lower than they were before the
country's economic crisis began. Indeed, the level of claims last
week was just 8,000 above a 14-year low reached in July.
[to top of second column] |
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure
of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell
7,250 to 287,750, its lowest level since 2006.
The Labor Department said there were no special factors influencing
the state level claims data.
The report showed the number of people still receiving benefits
after an initial week of aid dropped 21,000 to 2.38 million in the
week ended Sept. 27.
"The gradual improvement in continuing claims is particularly
encouraging and is consistent with recent declines in the
unemployment rate, suggesting that unemployed workers continue to
find gainful employment," said Gennadiy Goldberg, U.S. strategist at
TD Securities in New York.
(Reporting by Jason Lange, additional reporting by Richard Leong in
New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tim Ahmann)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
