Weekly Jobless Claims Fall To Lowest Level In Nine Months

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First-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by much more than expected in the week ended October 3rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although jobless claims remain above the 500,000 level.

The report showed that jobless claims fell to 521,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 554,000. Economists had expected claims to fall to 540,000 from the 551,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since claims came in at 488,000 in early January, the last time claims were below 500,000.

The Labor Department also said that the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 539,750 from the previous week's revised average of 548,750.

Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment help, also declined in the week ended September 26th, the latest week for which the government has data.

The report showed that continuing claims fell to 6.040 million in the week ended September 26th from the preceding week's revised level of 6.112 million.

However, the report also showed a continued increase in the number of people claiming emergency unemployment compensation benefits, which rose to a new record high.

Peter Boockvar, a Miller Tabak strategist, said, "The data is clear evidence again that companies continue to reduce the level of firings but still remain extremely reluctant to hire new workers and its why Congress is already discussing a further extension of unemployment insurance."

The White House signaled Tuesday that they would likely seek to extend unemployment benefits and other social safety net measures.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "I think there's bipartisan agreement to extend the safety-net to ensure that those that have fallen on hard times and have lost their job have the benefits they need to provide for their families."

Last Friday, the Labor Department released a separate report showing that employment fell by much more than expected in the month of September.

The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 263,000 jobs in September following a revised decrease of 201,000 jobs in August. Economists had been expecting the pace of job losses to slow to about 175,000.

With the continued loss of jobs, the unemployment rate edged up to a new twenty-six year high of 9.8 percent in September from 9.7 percent in August.

First-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by much more than expected in the week ended October 3rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although jobless claims remain above the 500,000 level. The report showed that jobless claims fell to 521,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 554,000. Economists had expected claims to fall to 540,000 from the 551,000 originally reported for the previous week. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)