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US unemployment claims drop

October 9, 2014

The number of jobless Americans filing for insurance benefits has fallen, indicating that the US labor market is gaining momentum. The figure is at its lowest level since 2006, two years before the Great Recession.

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Employment Services check-in desk
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The number of Americans filing jobless claims fell to an eight-year low, according to the latest figures from the US Labor Department Thursday.

In the week ended Oct. 4, initial applications for unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000. This is the fourth straight week that applications have been below 300,000 - a sign that the US job market is on the road to recovery.

The number of claims is a good measure of layoffs. Lower application numbers suggest employers expect continuing economic growth, thus keeping their workers or even hiring new ones.

The four-week average of claims, a more reliable measure of labor market trends, dropped 7,250 to 287,750 - the lowest number since February 2006, almost two years before the start of the Great Recession in the US.

In September, the unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent, a six-year low, as the economy added 248,000 jobs, the government agency said last week.

But some analysts said another reason for the drop may be that many of the long-term unemployed were no longer eligible for benefits, since jobless aid lasts for 26 weeks in most states.

However, the number of US job openings also hit a 13-year high in August, according to a separate Labor Department report Tuesday, suggesting hiring will be sustained in the coming months.

el/uhe (AFP, Reuters, AP)