13:30 Dados States
Enviado: 8/3/2007 14:408:30 AM ET
U.S. 4-wk avg. continuing claims 2.55mln, 13-month high
U.S. continuing jobless claims fall 98,000 to 2.53mln
U.S. 4-wk avg. new claims rise to 339,000, 17-month high
U.S. initial jobless claims fall 10,000 to 328,000
ECONOMIC REPORT: Initial jobless claims slip 10,000 to 328,000; Four-week average of claims remains at 17-month high
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:40 AM ET Mar 8, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of workers filing for unemployment benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 last week to 328,000, but the four-week average of new claims moved up to a 17-month high of 339,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
A Labor Department spokesman said there were no special factors in the latest week.
The four-week average is considered a better gauge of underlying trends than the weekly number because it smoothes out one-time events, such as weather or holidays. The four-week average of new claims hasn't been higher since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.
The four-week average of new claims is up about 10% compared with a month ago.
Economists aren't sure whether the recent increase in unemployment claims is just noise in the data caused by bad weather and the timing of holidays, or is a sign that labor markets are finally weakening in response to slower growth.
The government will report on February's nonfarm payrolls on Friday. Economists expect job growth of about 100,000 after 111,000 jobs were added in January. According to the ADP employment report, private-sector employers added about 57,000 jobs in February, the weakest job growth in three years.
Layoffs in the week ending Feb. 24 were concentrated in the Northeast and in the Great Lakes states, which reported more layoffs in autos, construction and services.
The number of workers receiving unemployment checks fell by 98,000 to 2.53 million in the week ending Feb. 24. The insured unemployment rate -- the portion of all workers who are covered by unemployment insurance who are collecting benefits -- fell back to 1.9% from a cyclical high of 2%.
The four-week average of continuing claims inched higher to 2.55 million, however, the highest since January 2006.
Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs.
Compared with the same time last year, initial claims are up about 11% while continuing claims are up about 2%.
Long-term unemployment has been stubbornly high during this expansion, despite the decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.5%. In January, about 30% of the 7 million official unemployed people had been out of work longer than 15 weeks, while 16%, or 1.1 million, had been out of work longer than 27 weeks.
Typically, unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks for those who are eligible. Those who exhaust their unemployment benefits are still counted as unemployed if they are looking for work.
U.S. 4-wk avg. continuing claims 2.55mln, 13-month high
U.S. continuing jobless claims fall 98,000 to 2.53mln
U.S. 4-wk avg. new claims rise to 339,000, 17-month high
U.S. initial jobless claims fall 10,000 to 328,000
ECONOMIC REPORT: Initial jobless claims slip 10,000 to 328,000; Four-week average of claims remains at 17-month high
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:40 AM ET Mar 8, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of workers filing for unemployment benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 last week to 328,000, but the four-week average of new claims moved up to a 17-month high of 339,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
A Labor Department spokesman said there were no special factors in the latest week.
The four-week average is considered a better gauge of underlying trends than the weekly number because it smoothes out one-time events, such as weather or holidays. The four-week average of new claims hasn't been higher since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.
The four-week average of new claims is up about 10% compared with a month ago.
Economists aren't sure whether the recent increase in unemployment claims is just noise in the data caused by bad weather and the timing of holidays, or is a sign that labor markets are finally weakening in response to slower growth.
The government will report on February's nonfarm payrolls on Friday. Economists expect job growth of about 100,000 after 111,000 jobs were added in January. According to the ADP employment report, private-sector employers added about 57,000 jobs in February, the weakest job growth in three years.
Layoffs in the week ending Feb. 24 were concentrated in the Northeast and in the Great Lakes states, which reported more layoffs in autos, construction and services.
The number of workers receiving unemployment checks fell by 98,000 to 2.53 million in the week ending Feb. 24. The insured unemployment rate -- the portion of all workers who are covered by unemployment insurance who are collecting benefits -- fell back to 1.9% from a cyclical high of 2%.
The four-week average of continuing claims inched higher to 2.55 million, however, the highest since January 2006.
Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs.
Compared with the same time last year, initial claims are up about 11% while continuing claims are up about 2%.
Long-term unemployment has been stubbornly high during this expansion, despite the decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.5%. In January, about 30% of the 7 million official unemployed people had been out of work longer than 15 weeks, while 16%, or 1.1 million, had been out of work longer than 27 weeks.
Typically, unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks for those who are eligible. Those who exhaust their unemployment benefits are still counted as unemployed if they are looking for work.