Weekly Jobs Claims Fall Slightly

Weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 3,000 to 450,000 last week, the Labor Department said this morning. It is an encouraging sign, although no weekly number should be read into too much, as the data tends to jump around. But economists had predicted a rise to 459,000 claims. The four-week average fell 13,500 to 464,750.

Weekly claims last peaked at 503,000 in mid-August. The number of weekly claims has remained sustained between 450,000 and 470,000 since January, and needs to fall into the 300,000s to imply a decline in the broader unemployment rate.