Jobless-aid claims drop to 9-month low
An opportunity fair sign shows a hiring event for UPS bicycle delivery helpers at a job fair at WorkSource Oregon, in Portland, Ore. (Nov. 3, 2011) Credit: AP File
A steady decline in the number of Americans applying for weekly unemployment benefits is the latest signal the U.S. economy has strengthened and businesses may be poised to step up hiring.
Applications fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said Thursday -- the lowest level since late February. And a four-week average for applications, which smooths week-to-week fluctuations, fell for the ninth time in 11 weeks to an eight-month low.
The downward trend in unemployment benefit applications bolsters the view the economy has improved from its spring slump, when many feared another recession was likely. Consumer confidence is up, retailers reported a strong start to the holiday shopping season and the unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest point in two and a half years.
"There have been numerous indications that the labor market is healing, and today's jobless claims report only reinforces that view," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, a trading firm.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said, "We expect claims to head slowly downwards for the foreseeable future, and in due course payroll growth will accelerate."
Applications that drop below 375,000 -- consistently -- tend to correlate with a steady decline in the unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, the government said last week, down from 9 percent the previous month. Employers added a net total of 120,000 jobs last month. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row -- the first time that has happened since April 2006.
