Hopes Rise As New Jobless Claims Drop

New jobless claims dropped by 33,000 in the week ended Oct. 3, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

The seasonally adjusted 521,000 filing initial claims for state unemployment benefits is the smallest level since the first week of January. The four-week rolling average of new claims also fell, down 9,000, the lowest since the first of the year. For the week of Sept. 26, 6.04 million were continuing to claim jobless benefits, a drop of 72,000.

The numbers raised hope that hiring might be increasing. Economists had predicted first-time claims would be about 540,000, nearly 20,000 higher. It’s difficult to understand what the numbers truly mean, however. Employers could be hiring more, or jobless workers could have exhausted their initial 26 weeks of payments.

Initial claims are up 13 percent from a year ago, and continuing claims are up 70 percent. Last month, the jobless rate reached a 26-year high of 9.8 percent.

Related posts:

1. House To Vote On Extending Jobless Benefits
2. Reducing Spending by Jobless White Collar Workers Hurting Recovery
3. US Federal Minimum Wage Raised To $7.25
4. Salvation Army In Canada Reports 75 Percent Rise In Food Bank Demand The Past Year
5. David Cross claims he snorted coke “40ft from Obama”