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U.S. jobless claims fall
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June 28, 2001: 8:44 a.m. ET
Number of Americans filing for unemployment drops below 400,000
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Fewer Americans lined up for unemployment benefits last week, the government said Thursday, a possible sign of stabilization in the job market.
New claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to 388,000 from a revised 404,000 the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported. Wall Street economists polled by Briefing.com had forecast a reading of about 420,000.
"Claims have now been essentially static for three months, so even if the latest declines turn out to be unsustainable, the data will still show that the trend is no longer rising rapidly, and may not be rising at all," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. "It looks like the worst of the worst is now over in the labor market."
The four-week moving average of new claims, closely watched by economists since it smoothes weekly fluctuations, fell to 416,000 for the latest period from a revised 423,750.
New claims fell below 400,000 for the first time in six weeks. The five-week run above 400,000 was the longest since a similar string in August and September of 1992, when the U.S. economy was coming out of a recession. Claims above 400,000 are generally seen as an indication of a weak job market.
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Continued claims -- from workers who have claimed at least a week of benefits -- rose to 2.992 million in the week ended June 16, the latest data available, from a revised 2.978 million in the prior week. Continued claims are at their highest level since Nov. 7, 1992, the government said.
The states with the largest increases in claims last week were California and Wisconsin, while the states with the largest decreases were North Carolina and Illinois. 
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