US Initial Jobless Claims Decline to Lowest Level Since April
Applications for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level since April, illustrating a solid job market.
Initial claims decreased by 6,000 to 213,000 in the week ended Nov. 16. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 220,000 applications.
However, continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, climbed to 1.91 million in the previous week, a three-year high, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The increase reflected a jump in Washington, tied to secondary effects from a strike at Boeing Co. that has since been settled.
Source : Bloomberg