WASHINGTON--The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless
benefits fell to the lowest level in more than four years, as some
factories skipped their typical summer shutdown.
Initial jobless claims fell by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000
in the week ended July 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was
the biggest drop since January, sending claims to their lowest level
since March 2008.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast 370,000 new
applications for jobless benefits last week.
Jobless claims--a measure of layoffs--have fallen for three
consecutive weeks, offering hope that the labor market could be
improving after slowing sharply in recent months. The four-week moving
average of claims, considered a more-reliable measure because it
smoothes out weekly volatility, fell by 9,750 to 376,500--the lowest
level since late May.
Last week's sharp drop appeared to be due largely to seasonal factors,
and not necessarily a new surge of momentum in the jobs market. Many
auto factories typically shut down in early July, usually leading to a
sharp rise in claims. This year, there have been fewer shutdowns, in
part because of high demand for new cars, a Labor Department economist
said. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, claims rose last week.
Still, the seasonally adjusted drop in claims in recent weeks offers
hope that the labor market might be slowly improving. Last week, the
government reported that the economy added just 80,000 jobs in June,
only slightly better than May's job growth. The unemployment rate
remained stuck at 8.2%.
Thursday's report showed the number of continuing unemployment benefit
claims--those drawn by workers for more than a week--fell by 14,000 to
3.3 million in the week ended June 30. Continuing claims are reported
with a one-week lag.
The number of workers requesting unemployment insurance was equivalent
to 2.6% of employed workers paying into the system in the week ended
June 30, the same as the prior week.
The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at:
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm.
Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com and Eric Morath
at eric.morath@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 12, 2012 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)
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