CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

TABLE-U.S. jobless claims fell in latest week

01/04/2004 14:35

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department
report of initial state jobless benefit claims, seasonally
adjusted.
Week Ended Initial Claims 4-Week Avg. Continued Claims
03/27/04 342,000 340,250 Unavailable
03/20/04 345,000-r 340,250-r 3,062,000
03/13/04 333,000-r 342,000-r 3,030,000-r
03/06/04 341,000-r 346,250-r 3,077,000-r
r-revised
REVISIONS:
INITIAL CLAIMS: March 20 from 339,000; March 13 from
338,000, March 6 from 342,000
FOUR-WK AVG: March 20 from 341,500; March 13 from 344,500;
March 6 from 346,000
CONTINUED CLAIMS: March 13 from 3,004,000; March 6 from
3,050,000
STATES WITH DECREASE IN CLAIMS OF MORE THAN 1,000:
The department said three states reported a decrease in
claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended March 20, the latest
period for which data are available. They were:
California -2,832
Georgia -1,168
North Carolina -1,073
STATES WITH INCREASE IN MORE THAN 1,000:
The department said there was one state that reported an
increase in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended March
20, the latest period for which data are available.
Oklahoma 3,119
FORECAST:
Reuters survey of U.S. economists forecast:
U.S. jobless claims 340,000 in the March 27 week
HISTORICAL COMPARISON/NOTES:
US JOBLESS 4-WK AVG LOWEST SINCE JAN 27, 2001 AT 340,250
The insured unemployment rate, a measurement of the work
force receiving unemployment benefits, was 2.4 percent in the
week ended March 20, unchanged from the prior week.
The department said 161,806 individuals filed for the
government program that extended unemployment benefits in the
week ended March 13, down from 200,971 in the prior week.
California said it had fewere layoffs in the trade and
service industries, and agriculture. Georgia said there were
fewer layoffs in the mobile homes industry. North Carolina saw
fewer layoffs in the construction, textile, furniture and
electronic equipment industries.
Oklahoma had no comment.
((Washington newsroom, +1 202 898-8310))