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US jobless claims drop fifth week in a row

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Thu, 25 Dec 2014, 6:28AM
Photo: stock.xchng
Photo: stock.xchng

US jobless claims drop fifth week in a row

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Thu, 25 Dec 2014, 6:28AM

New claims for US unemployment insurance fell last week for the fifth week in a row, according to government figures.

Initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, totaled 280,000 in the week ending December 20, down 9000 from the previous week, according to US Department of Labour data released on Wednesday.

Analysts had projected 290,000 claims.

The result marked the 14th week in the last 15 in which weekly claims have stood below 300,000. The current count is also the lowest since the first week of November.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out week-over-week volatility, fell by 8500 to 290,250.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare called the data "another encouraging glimpse of labour trends."He said the data likely portend another solid jobs report when the Department of Labour releases figures for the December report in early January.

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said that third-quarter US gross domestic product came in at a strong 5.0 per cent, surpassing expectations.

 

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