Week's jobless claims dip. productivity up
A file photo of Cynthia Torrez looking over ads at a Phoneix job fair. (Nov. 23, 2010) Credit: AP
Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 397,000 in the week ended Oct. 29, the fewest in a month, Labor Department figures showed Thursday in Washington. The total number of people on unemployment benefit rolls decreased to a six-month low, signaling limited progress in the labor market.
"The trend remains very constructive," said Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities Inc. in Manhattan, who had forecast 395,000 claims. "It's back below 400,000, which seems to be the pivot point in terms of a strengthening labor market as opposed to a weakening one."
Thursday's data showed the four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, fell to 404,500 last week from 406,500.
Workers' productivity rose in the third quarter, for the first time this year, as companies tried to cut costs following a slowdown in growth, another Labor Department report Thursday showed.
The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 3.1 percent annual rate following declines in each of the previous two quarters. Expenses per employee fell at a 2.4 percent rate after a 2.8 percent gain in the second quarter of the year.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 15,000 in the week ended Oct. 22 to 3.68 million. The continuing claims figure does not include Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs. Those who've used up traditional benefits and collect emergency and extended payments rose by about 39,300 to 3.49 million in the week ended Oct. 15.
