U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fell More Than Expected
19 Dec 08:42
By Phil McCarty
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans filing first-time applications for
unemployment benefits decreased last week, partially reversing a jump in
initial claims during the first week of December.
Initial jobless claims fell by 11,000 to 433,000 in the week that ended Dec.
14, the Labor Department said Thursday.
That number wasn't as large as Wall Street's expectations for a 41,000
decrease in claims, according to a consensus forecast of economists surveyed by
Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC. But seasonal adjustment problems have recently
called into question the ability of weekly data to discern labor market trends.
Further, many economists expect the unemployment level to rise over the next
few months. For the month of November the unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage
point to 6.0%, the Labor Department reported Dec. 6.
The Labor Department revised its jobless claims estimate for the previous
week, raising it by 3,000 to 444,000 from 441,000.
The four-week-moving average of claims, which smoothes out weekly spikes,
rose 12,750 to 400,750 from the pervious week's revised average of 388,000.
Private economists tend to use the four-week moving average as a better guide
of what is really happening with initial claims, given the large swings that
can distort weekly figures.
With recent seasonal adjustment problems creeping into the weekly jobless
claims data, a Labor Department statistician told Dow Jones Newswires last week
not to put too much weight into one week's claims numbers.
"The weekly numbers should be treated carefully," said Tom Stengle, a
statistician with the Employment Training Administration, which produces the
weekly unemployment report.
The Labor Department said the number of workers drawing unemployment benefits
for more than a week jumped in the week that ended Dec. 7, the latest week for
which the number isavailable. Continuing claims increased by 229,000 to
3,497,000. That jump is the largest weekly increase in continuing claims since
Nov. 24, 1990, when the number rose 252,000. However, a Labor Department
spokesman said the agency is also experiencing seasonal adjustment difficulties
for this data as well, citing large declines of 151,000 and 191,000 for the
weeks ended Nov. 23 and Nov. 30, respectively.
The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance rose to 2.7% in
the Dec. 7 week from 2.6% the previous week.
In all, 41 states and territories reported an increase in unadjusted initial
claims for the week of Dec. 7, the latest week for which detailed state
information is available. Twelve reported a decrease, the Labor Department
said.
-Phil McCarty; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9251.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-19-02 0842ET |
