U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 330,000 in Latest Week from 335,000; Lowest in 5 Years [View all]
Source: Reuters
@Reuters: U.S. jobless claims fall to 330,000 in latest week from 335,000 in prior week; lowest in five years #BREAKING
Jobless claims drop to five-year low; labor market healing
Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:33am EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to its lowest since the early days of the 2007-09 recession, a hopeful sign for the sluggish labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 330,000, the lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims have now fallen for two straight weeks, suggesting that if employers are concerned tax hikes enacted this year will affect consumer demand, this is not leading to more layoffs.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected claims to rise to 355,000 last week.
Economists have cautioned about reading too deeply into this month's figures, as claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year. This is because of large swings in the model used by the department to iron out seasonal fluctuations.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE90E0KL20130124
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