This week’s jobless claims report is good news

Reuters (via Findlaw) reports: “Jobless Claims Fell, Partly on Reagan”

[I]nitial claims for jobless aid fell a bit more than expected last week, . . . but part of the decline was tied to the funeral for late President Ronald Reagan.

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to 336,000 . . . , their lowest level since early May. . .

15 states had closed their unemployment benefit offices last Friday in honor of Reagan’s funeral. . . [A] portion of last week’s decline in initial claims could be pinned on those closures.

A four-week moving average . . . slipped 2,750 to 343,250. The average has been hovering since early March near levels not seen since early 2001, before the economy tipped into recession.

A drop in the overall number of unemployed workers on the benefit rolls has underscored the more upbeat labor market. Read more

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Posted by George Lenard

on June 18, 2004

General