DC
http://netscape5.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=netscape&dist=netscape& guid=%7B5584FEBC-9939-455D-A606-AD6DCEA0D24B%7D
ECONOMIC REPORT
Jobless claims lowest in 35 months U.S. labor market continues slow, steady strengthening
By Rex Nutting, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 10:34 AM ET Jan. 8, 2004
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. labor market strengthened modestly in the past weeks, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The average weekly number of initial claims for state unemploymentbenefits over the past four weeks fell by 5,500 to 350,250 in the weekending Jan. 3. It's the lowest number since Feb. 3, 2001.
However, claims in the most recent week increased by 14,000 to 353,000. Initial claims had fallen three weeks in a row.
Economistsprefer the four-week average to the weekly number, which is subject tolarge swings due to one-time events such as weather, holidays andisolated layoffs.
Economists say a weekly average of 350,000 newclaims is consistent with job growth strong enough to bring down theunemployment rate from its current 5.9 percent. The four-week averagehas fallen by about 50,000 in the past three months.
The joblessclaims report comes a day before the Labor Department reports on jobsdata for December. Economists are expecting nonfarm payrolls to growabout 137,000 jobs in December, slightly stronger than the 57,000reported in November. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at5.9 percent. See Economic Calendar.
Thenumber of Americans collecting state unemployment benefits in the mostrecent week ending Dec. 27 fell 12,000 to 3.27 million. The four-weekaverage of continuing claims dropped to 3.275 million, the lowest sinceSept. 22, 2001.
The figures do not include some 770,000 workersreceiving extended federal unemployment benefits, which are availableonly after state benefits are exhausted, typically after 26 weeks.
The federal program is phasing out. No new workers will be eligible for the program.
InNovember, of 8.7 million unemployed workers, about 24 percent or 2million had been out of work longer than six months, the highestpercentage in 20 years.
Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of CBS.MarketWatch.com.
-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20040108/8ad271f9/attachment.htm>