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Jobless Claims Fall Sharply
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fewer U.S. workers applied for state unemployment benefits last week, the government said on
Thursday in a report that nevertheless showed a soft labor market even amid the broader economic recovery.
First-time jobless claims fell by 55,000 to a seasonally adjusted 438,000
for the week ended April 6, the Labor Department said. But while claims
decreased last week, the level remained well above Wall Street's
expectations and reflected a pickup over the past few weeks in
applications for extended unemployment benefits.
The extended benefits program is part of an economic stimulus package
enacted by Congress earlier this year to help workers who lost their jobs
amid last year's recession and in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
``Even adjusting for the extended claims, the labor market is not improving
as rapidly as anticipated,'' said Sung Won Sohn, Chief Economist at Wells
Fargo in Minneapolis.
``This tells us that the GDP (gross domestic product) might be growing very nicely, but employers are still very cautious about
hiring people back, electing to utilize existing people, overtime and the part-time agencies.''
The four-week moving average, a more reliable measure of employment conditions because it irons out weekly gyrations, rose
to 433,750, the highest level since December of last year, from 424,000 the previous week.
Adding to evidence of a still-weak labor market, the number of workers remaining on unemployment aid rose to a seasonally
adjusted 3.78 million for the week ended March 30, the highest level recorded in 19 years.
U.S. Treasury bonds rose slightly shortly after the release of the report, as traders gleaned from the data that a high number of
U.S workers are remaining jobless.
Jobless Claims Fall Sharply
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fewer U.S. workers applied for state unemployment benefits last week, the government said on
Thursday in a report that nevertheless showed a soft labor market even amid the broader economic recovery.
First-time jobless claims fell by 55,000 to a seasonally adjusted 438,000
for the week ended April 6, the Labor Department said. But while claims
decreased last week, the level remained well above Wall Street's
expectations and reflected a pickup over the past few weeks in
applications for extended unemployment benefits.
The extended benefits program is part of an economic stimulus package
enacted by Congress earlier this year to help workers who lost their jobs
amid last year's recession and in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
``Even adjusting for the extended claims, the labor market is not improving
as rapidly as anticipated,'' said Sung Won Sohn, Chief Economist at Wells
Fargo in Minneapolis.
``This tells us that the GDP (gross domestic product) might be growing very nicely, but employers are still very cautious about
hiring people back, electing to utilize existing people, overtime and the part-time agencies.''
The four-week moving average, a more reliable measure of employment conditions because it irons out weekly gyrations, rose
to 433,750, the highest level since December of last year, from 424,000 the previous week.
Adding to evidence of a still-weak labor market, the number of workers remaining on unemployment aid rose to a seasonally
adjusted 3.78 million for the week ended March 30, the highest level recorded in 19 years.
U.S. Treasury bonds rose slightly shortly after the release of the report, as traders gleaned from the data that a high number of
U.S workers are remaining jobless.
