— The number of people filing initial claims for state unemployment
benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, perhaps further evidence that
the frozen U.S. job market might be starting to thaw.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected initial
claims to rise slightly to 455,000. The level of initial claims in the
week ended
The four-week average of initial claims dropped 5,500 to 460,250, the lowest since
Although the end of the year is especially volatile
because of one-time factors such as holidays and bad weather, a Labor
official said the latest data did not reflect any unusual events.
The number of continuing claims, which reflects
people who have been collecting state benefits for an extended period,
dipped 57,000 to 4.98 million in the week ended
The steady decline in continuing claims over the
past few months suggests companies are no longer getting rid of workers
and may even be hiring. Yet the U.S. unemployment rate stands at 10
percent, and few economists expect it to decline quickly even if a
recovery gains steam in early 2010.
Companies typically ask employees to work longer
hours before they start filling new positions. Until demand for goods
and services accelerates, firms are likely to remain cautious about
hiring.
Another gauge of employment trends will become available on
when the federal government releases payroll data for December. The
U.S. unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, the highest rate
since the winter of 1982. It fell to 10 percent in November.
In the week ended
the number of people claiming benefits of any kind — state or federal —
totaled 10.2 million, not seasonally adjusted. That was up from 10
million in the previous week.
—
(c) 2009, MarketWatch.com Inc.
