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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
dropped 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 283,000 for the week
ended Feb. 14, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
The prior week's data was unrevised. Economists polled by
Reuters had forecast claims falling to 293,000 last week.
A Labor Department analyst said the department had estimated the
claims data for Tennessee, where offices were closed on Tuesday
because of bad weather.
A shortened work week due to Monday's Presidents Day holiday
could also have contributed to the unexpectedly bigger decline
in claims. Still, the underlying trend continues to point to a
strengthening labor market.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 6,500 to 283,250 last week.
The data covered the week that the government surveyed employers
for February's nonfarm payrolls. The four-week moving average of
claims fell 23,750 between the January and February survey
period, suggesting another month of job gains above
200,000.
The economy has added more than a million jobs over the past
three months, a performance last seen in 1997. A key measure of
labor market slack - the number of job seekers for every open
position - hit its lowest level since 2007 in December.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid rose 58,000 to
2.43 million in the week ended Feb. 7.
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