Obrigado, Ulisses (eom)
Enviado: 13/2/2003 16:30....
"Jobless Claims Drop 18,000 in Latest Week"
February 13, 2003 08:53:00 AM ET
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ranks of U.S. workers lining up for first-time jobless benefits thinned a bit last week, the government said on Thursday in a better-than-expected report suggesting the weak labor market was stabilizing.
Initial claims for unemployment aid fell by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000 for the week ended Feb. 8, the Labor Department said. Wall Street economists had expected claims to dip to only 389,000 from the 391,000 originally reported for the Feb. 1 week.
However, the four-week average -- considered a more reliable guide to the health of the jobs market because it irons out weekly fluctuations -- increased slightly, climbing by 3,500 to 389,000.
Analysts have taken some solace from seeing the four-week average move down and hold below 400,000 for several weeks. Some economists view claims above that level as a sign of a deteriorating jobs market.
The total number of unemployed workers who remained on the benefit rolls after filing an initial claim dropped by 12,000 to 3.31 million in the week ended Feb. 1, the latest week for which figures are available. The four-week average of that labor market barometer also fell, reaching its lowest level since just after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Few economists expect to see much improvement in the labor market until uncertainties surrounding the prospect of war in Iraq have lifted. But recent data, including the claims figures, have offered a sign that at least conditions are no longer worsening.
The Labor Department said last week that the economy added 143,000 nonfarm jobs in January -- the biggest monthly gain in over two years and one that retraced much of December's jobs loss of 156,000.
However, economists cautioned that an unusual pattern of seasonal hiring was behind the apparent improvement in January and said the report only signaled that the jobs market was stabilizing. "
© 2003 Reuters