U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fall To 381,000
(RTTNews.com) - New unemployment claims in the U.S. fell to a lower level than most experts had expected, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department.
For the week ending December 3, new claims for unemployment came in at a seasonally adjusted level of 381,000.
That marks a drop of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 404,000, which was revised up somewhat from the 402,000 initially reported.
Labor Department officials said that seasonal factors, including an administrative backlog from the shortened week of Thanksgiving and the start of seasonal layoffs over the winter had predicted a very high, 48.9 percent, increase in new claims.
However, while the actual increase in new claims was high, 40.5 percent, it was lower than predicted, resulting in the drop in the seasonally adjusted figures.
The four-week average of new unemployment claims, a figure that reduces some of the week-to-week fluctuations, fell 3,000 to 393,250 from the previous week's revised average of 396,000.
Most economists believe that for the unemployment rate to drop significantly, new jobless claims must remain below 400,000 per week for an extended period.
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