WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) — The number of first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose by about 9,000 last week, according to the Department of Labor, to nearly 270,000 — a number still considered historically low.
The government’s number of initial claims is a significant gauge of national layoffs and analysts say last week’s seasonally adjusted numbers are a positive sign for the department’s jobs report, due Friday.
“The pace of layoffs has slowed from already historically low levels,” analyst Stephen Stanley, an economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, told the Wall Street Journal. “The labor market remains quite healthy and shows no sign of running out of steam any time soon.”
The moving average for claims in November fell by 1,750 to 269,250 last week, the Labor numbers show.
The number of new claims last week represents a rise from the week previous (260,000) but an overall decline from the week before that (272,000) — and the same week in 2014, which saw 296,000 seasonally adjusted first-time claims.
Non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) claims, though, declined by more than 42,000 last week, the department said. NSA claims represent the total increase or decrease in applications, unadjusted to reflect expected patterns of unemployment.
The latest unadjusted figure for all persons claiming unemployment benefits in the United States, for the week ending Nov. 14, was listed at 2,059,190 — an increase of about 104,000 from the week before. A year ago, that figure was 2,250,448.
Overall, unemployment claims have steadily declined in the United States since the end of the financial crisis in 2009 and ultimately reached a four-decade low in July, and figures have remained near that mark since.
The Labor Department, which said employers added 271,000 jobs in October, is expected to release its November jobs report Friday. Many forecasters expect the month’s job additions to be around 200,000.
