US unemployment claims drop
October 9, 2014The 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)