|
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
dropped 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 for the week
ended Jan.
24, the lowest since April 2000, the Labor Department said on
Thursday. It was the biggest weekly decline since November 2012.
The decline, which far exceeded economists' expectations for a
drop to only 300,000, probably exaggerates the strength of the
jobs market as the data included the Martin Luther King holiday,
which means fewer claims were likely processed.
It unwound the prior weeks' increases, which had pushed claims
above the key 300,000 threshold.
Economists had largely dismissed that rise as "noise," noting
difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations at the
start of the year.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 8,250 last week to 298,500.
The latest decline in applications for unemployment aid bolsters
views of tightening labor market conditions and comes a day
after the Federal Reserve maintained its upbeat assessment of
the jobs market and said a range of labor indicators suggested
slack continued to diminish.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid fell 71,000 to 2.39
million in the week ended Jan. 17. The so-called continuing
claims covered the period during which the government surveyed
households for the unemployment rate.
Continuing claims fell 22,000 between the December and January
survey periods, suggesting another decline in the jobless rate,
which is currently at a 6-1/2-year low of 5.6 percent.
((Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci))
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
