US Jobless Claims Drop Significantly

Hope continues to grow in the labor market, where jobless claims fell by a notable amount during the first week of February.  Labor Department reports indicated that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell from 373,000 in the last week of January to 358,000 in the first week of February.  There was also a decrease in the less volatile four-week moving average of jobless claims, which fell from 377,250 to 366,250, its lowest level since April 2008.

The Labor Department also reported increased job growth during the month of January, which helped contribute to the reduction of overall unemployment to its lowest levels since February 2009. The unemployment rate fell from 8.5 percent in December to 8.3 percent by the end of January, and the report indicated that employment in non-farm payroll increased from 203,000 to 243,000.

Despite the good news about first-time claims and employment rates, there was actually an increase in continuing claims, or those claims filed by people who were already receiving unemployment assistance and requested to continue them. Continuous claims increased from 3.451 million to 3.515 million in the last week of January.  Still, the four-week moving average of continuous claims fell from 3.531 million to 3.498 million.

Debra Jones (Like me on Facebook)
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