Weekly US unemployment benefit applications drop 42K to 338K; seasonal factors cloud figures | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Weekly US unemployment benefit applications drop 42K to 338K; seasonal factors cloud figures

FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2013 file photo, Jona Caldwell joins a long line of job seekers outside the Ferguson Community Center in Cordova, Tenn. The Labor Department reports on the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the last week on Dec. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Jim Weber, File)

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 42,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 338,000, the biggest drop since November 2012. But economists say the figures from late November and December are warped by seasonal volatility around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays.

The Labor Department says the less-volatile four-week average rose 4,250 to 348,000.

Claims had jumped 75,000 the two weeks that ended Dec. 14 before plunging last week.

Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs and are now consistent with a solid job market.

Hiring has been healthy the past four months. The economy added an average of 204,000 jobs every month from August through November, an improvement from earlier this year.

The unemployment rate fell in November to 7 per cent.

News from © The Associated Press, 2013
The Associated Press

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