"Jobless claims hint at strengthening labor market" [View all]

[applegrove]

Jobless claims hint at strengthening labor market

By Lucia Mutikani at Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/09/us-usa-economy-jobless-idUSBRE9480JL20130509

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The job market buoyancy, flagged last week by a relatively strong April employment report, eased fears of an abrupt economic slowdown.

"We are not getting a slowing in the second quarter. The claims data provide another set of confirmation that the labor market is healing," said Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, the lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The third weekly decline confounded economists' expectations for a rise to 335,000. Layoffs remained contained even as other parts of the economy such as manufacturing showed strain from belt-tightening in Washington.


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