Jobless Claims Fall To Two-Month Low


The amount of Americans filing new jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level since July, which is a hopeful sign for the American labor market, which has struggled to gain traction in recent months.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 26,000 to an adjusted level of 359,000, the lowest in two months, reports Reuters. The statistics were presented by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The four-week moving average for new claims also dropped by 4,500 to 374,000, breaking a streak of five straight weeks of increase. A Labor Department official added that there are no special factors that influenced the report and no state numbers have been estimated.

The US labor market has been tough after worries about higher taxes and deep government spending cuts in January, as well as the ongoing debt problems in Europe and slowing global growth, which lead employers to be cautious about ramping up hiring.

Yahoo! News notes that the Federal Reserve launched a third round of bond purchases this month after sluggish job gains and high unemployment remained steady. The US unemployment rate has been stuck above eight percent for the past three years for the first time since the Great Depression, a fact that has hindered President Barack Obama’s quest for a second term.

The new jobless claims report has showed that the number of people who are still receiving benefits under state programs after their initial week of aid also decreased 4,000 to 3.27 million for the week ending in September 15.

While the jobless claims was predicted to fall, the number is lower than forecasted, providing hope that the US economy and jobs crisis is looking up.

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