The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped last week to the lowest level in more than five years, indicating companies are retaining staff even as the economy cools
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Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Decline to Five-Year Low David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
A jobseeker talks with a recruiter at the Spring LGBT Career Fair in San Francisco, on April 24, 2013.
A jobseeker talks with a recruiter at the Spring LGBT Career Fair in San Francisco, on April 24, 2013. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
.Applications (INJCJC) for unemployment insurance payments fell 18,000 to 324,000 in the week ended April 27, the fewest since January 2008, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists forecast 345,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in the data.
Fewer firings show companies are confident their staff levels can adequately meet current demand. Even so, without a pickup in economic growth, the same companies may be reluctant to hire more workers in coming months.
“Employers are not necessarily shedding workers, but they are not necessarily enthusiastic about adding to payrolls either,” said Tom Simons, an economist at Jefferies LLC in New York, who projected claims would drop to 335,000. “It’s because of the low level of growth in the economy, and some caution about the future of fiscal policy.”
Estimates for first-time claims ranged from 335,000 to 365,000 in the Bloomberg survey of 48 economists. The Labor Department revised the previous week’s figure up to 342,000, from an initially reported 339,000.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than forecast in March as imports of consumer goods and business equipment declined, Commerce Department data also showed today.
