WASHINGTON: New claims for US unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, hitting their lowest level in more than three months, official data showed Thursday.
Initial jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 398,000 in the week ending July 23, the Labor Department said.
It was the first time claims had fallen below the psychological threshold of 400,000 since early April.
Claims fell by 24,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised level of 422,000.
The improvement was much better than the average analyst estimate of a decline to 415,000 claims.
The Labor Department noted that for the first time this month the weekly number had not been impacted by claims from Minnesota employees affected by a state government shutdown.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.