Jobless benefits fall sharply
WASHINGTON (AP) - January 3, 2008 The Labor Department said the number of persons applying for
jobless benefits totaled 336,000 last week, down by 21,000 from the
previous week when jobless claims had hit the highest level in more
than two years.
Last week's decline in benefit aplications was more than double
what had been expected, but analysts cautioned that it is difficult
to gauge the strength of the labor market from the claims figures
during holiday-shortened work weeks.
Several states reported large declines in claims because their
unemployment offices were closed for two days last week - Christmas
eve and Christmas - allowing less time for laid off workers to file
for benefits.
Labor Department analysts said that states reporting increases
in claims reflected normal patterns of temporary layoffs that occur
in various industries at this time every year.
The government will release its latest monthly unemployment
report on Friday. That report is expected to show that the
unemployment rate in December crept up to 4.8 percent, from 4.7
percent in November, with businesses creating a modest 70,000 jobs,
down from 94,000 payroll jobs created in November.
The labor market is being closely watched currently to see
whether layoffs rise in coming months as the economy slows from the
battering it is taking from a slumping housing market and severe
credit crunch.
The total of 336,000 claims was the lowest weekly figure in
three weeks. It followed a revised claims total of 357,000 last
week, which had been the highest weekly total since October 2005
when layoffs had surged in the aftermath of a series of devastating
hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.
For the week ending Dec. 22, 38 states and territories had
reported an increase in claims while 15 reported decreases.
The state with the biggest claims increase was Michigan, up
12,084, because of higher layoffs in the auto industry, followed by
California and Indiana.
The states with the biggest declines were Illinois, New York and
Colorado.
