The number of new claims for unemployment benefits fell by a more-than-expected 16,000 to 453,000 in the week ended September 25th. A survey of economists had predicted that there would be 458,000 new claimants for the time period.
While the results suggest that the rate of layoffs in the US economy is slowing, many people are still having trouble finding full-time employment.
“Employers are still kind of cautious,†said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, who forecasted claims would fall to 455,000. “We need to regain that broader momentum in the economy, and something like that is just slow to develop.â€
Source: Bloomberg
