Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to an Eight-Month Low
he Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits declined by 23,000 to 382,000 in the week ended Oct. 4, the lowest level in more than eight months.
As the labor market continues to improve, consumer spending would likely increase, as would the demand for trucking services to deliver goods to stores.
The last time claims were lower was the week ended Feb. 8, when the total was 378,000, Labor said. Many economists say that weekly claims of less than 400,000 signal a strengthening labor market.
In addition, Labor said the number of people continuing to collect state unemployment insurance declined by 7,000 to 3.642 million in the week that ended Sept. 27.
Analysts estimated that claims would fall to 395,000 from the originally reported 399,000, Bloomberg reported.
Although this report offered hope job seekers could have an easier time finding employment, economists told the Associated Press steady improvement would take time. Companies want profits to get stronger and feel more confident about the rebound before they go on a hiring spree, AP said.
