US jobless claims fall to lowest in 3 months
Print Edition
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected and hit a three-month low last week, a sign of strength in a labor market that has been hobbled by severe weather.
Initial claims for state jobless benefits dropped 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, the Labor Department said yesterday. That was the lowest level since the end of November, and the drop more than unwound the prior week’s rise.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits falling to 338,000 in the week ended March 1.
The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market conditions as it irons out week-to-week volatility, slipped 2,000 to 336,500.
The claims data has no bearing on today’s employment report for February as it falls outside the reference period for the survey. While unseasonably cold weather has dampened hiring in recent months, the decrease in new filings for jobless benefits suggests labor market fundamentals remain strong.
Nonfarm payrolls are forecast to have increased by 150,000 jobs in February, according to a Reuters survey of economists, up from the weather-depressed gains of 113,000 in January and 75,000 in December.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 8,000 to 2.91 million in the week ended on February 22. That was the lowest level since December.
A second report from the department suggested businesses would probably need to step up hiring to maintain output, after productivity in the fourth quarter was revised down sharply.
Productivity rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 3.2 percent pace. Productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter.
Economists had expected fourth-quarter productivity would be revised down to a 2.5 percent rate. Part of the weakness in productivity reflects sluggish economic growth.
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