Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since Jan. 2001
he number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits declined by 22,000 to 353,000 in the week ended Dec. 13, matching the lowest level in almost three years, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Claims also totaled 353,000 in the last week of October, the lowest since January 2001. The four-week moving average of claims, a less-volatile indicator, fell to 361,750 from 364,000.
Analysts said Labor’s report suggested the U.S. economy will add jobs for a fifth straight month in December, Bloomberg said.
Claims around 370,000 are historically consistent with a gain of 100,000 to 150,000 payroll jobs, according to research by economists at Lehman Brothers Inc.
The number of people continuing to collect benefits rose to 3.34 million in the week that ended Dec. 6 from 3.31 million a week earlier. However, the four-week average of that barometer dropped 34,000 to 3.33 million, its lowest level since shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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