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To: John Pitera who wrote (23239)	3/4/1999 12:55:00 PM
From: wlheatmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

Is this old data? Thursday March 4, 11:08 am Eastern Time U.S. jobless claims fall in latest week By Nancy Waitz WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for state jobless benefits fell by 8,000 at the end of February, showing the U.S. labor market was still strong as the month ended. The Labor Department said on Thursday initial jobless claims dropped to 286,000 in the week ended Feb. 27 from a revised 294,000 in the prior week. Claims were originally reported at 293,000. Economists had forecast the weekly jobs data at 299,000 and the release of the data prompted a fall in inflation-sensitive U.S. bond prices as dealers saw it as indicating a strong economy that may prompt a rise in official interest rates. First-time claims have been holding below the key 300,000 mark for five straight weeks. This is the longest run of claims under 300,000 since a seven-week string of similarly low claims from April 6 to May 18, 1974. Another barometer of labor market trends has also edged lower for the sixth consecutive week, falling to its lowest level in 10 years. The closely watched four-week moving average, which irons out weekly fluctuations caused by holidays and seasonal factors, dropped to 290,750 in the week ended Feb. 27 from a revised 293,000 in the prior week. It was the lowest level since 287,500 claims in the Feb 24, 1989 week, the department said. Wall street economists are awaiting the February unemployment data, due Friday, for further evidence of strong jobs growth. Economists forecast February's unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 4.3 percent, with 245,000 new jobs created outside the farm sector, matching January's 245,000. In the week ended Feb. 20 -- the week before the latest reported claims -- Labor said four states reported an increase of more than 1,000, led by Massachusetts, which reported 3,275 additional claims resulting from layoffs in the service industry. In the same week, 10 states reported a decrease of more than 1,000, led by California with 11,323 fewer claims. That state reported a decrease in claims due to the President's Day holiday-shortened workweek and fewer layoffs in construction, food industries and agriculture.