Requests for Jobless Benefits Down 15,000; Exodus from Jobs Market in Jan. Aids Decline
Submitted claims for jobless benefits fell 15,000 in the week ended February 4th to 358,000, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported Thursday morning. Economists were anticipating requests of 370,000.
The solid report places the four-week moving average at 366,250, the lowest level since April of 2008.
Initial jobless claims for the last week in January originally came in at 367,000, but were revised higher to 373,000 with this week's report. People filing for continuing claims increased by 64,000 to 3.52 million in the week ended Jan. 28th. This is a substantial increase considering the number of people who have already used up traditional benefits rose by 18,650 to 3.5 million in the week ended January 21st.
On a state-by-state basis, 26 reported an increase in claims, while 27 reported a decrease. The unemployment rate within the group of citizens who are eligible to collect benefits increased by 10 basis points to 2.8 percent for the week ended January 28th.
Although these figures sound relatively uplifting and positive, it’s notable to highlight the unemployment rate only counts the number of people seeking work. Reports last week from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics noted 1.2 million people dropped out of the job market in January. During a speech on February 7th, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated, “There are also a lot of people who are either out of the labor force because they don’t think they can find work. We still have a long way to go before the labor market can be said to be operating normally.”
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The solid report places the four-week moving average at 366,250, the lowest level since April of 2008.
Initial jobless claims for the last week in January originally came in at 367,000, but were revised higher to 373,000 with this week's report. People filing for continuing claims increased by 64,000 to 3.52 million in the week ended Jan. 28th. This is a substantial increase considering the number of people who have already used up traditional benefits rose by 18,650 to 3.5 million in the week ended January 21st.
On a state-by-state basis, 26 reported an increase in claims, while 27 reported a decrease. The unemployment rate within the group of citizens who are eligible to collect benefits increased by 10 basis points to 2.8 percent for the week ended January 28th.
Although these figures sound relatively uplifting and positive, it’s notable to highlight the unemployment rate only counts the number of people seeking work. Reports last week from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics noted 1.2 million people dropped out of the job market in January. During a speech on February 7th, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated, “There are also a lot of people who are either out of the labor force because they don’t think they can find work. We still have a long way to go before the labor market can be said to be operating normally.”
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