|
Jobless claims fall
|
 |
December 20, 2001: 10:00 a.m. ET
First-time filings for benefits down for seventh time in last eight weeks.
|
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The number of initial jobless claims filed last week fell for the third consecutive week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, prompting speculation that the tidal wave of layoffs could be easing off.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell to 384,000 in the week ended Dec. 15, the Labor Department said. That's lower than the 394,000 posted the prior week and well below analysts' forecasts of 440,000, according to Briefing.com.
It marked the seven week out of the last eight that jobless claims have declined. A week ago first-time jobless claims showed the biggest one-week decline since 1992.
Thursday's report also showed that the more stable four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out week-to-week fluctuations, also declined last week to 438,000, the lowest level since Sept. 22.
Even with these declines, economists warn that the country is still in for a period of rising unemployment. Last week saw major companies announce nearly 30,000 new job cuts, though most of those affected by the cuts have yet to be notified. Nearly 10,000 new cuts have been announced so far this week.
To cope with the sour economy, which some economists say fell into recession in March, companies have cut production, trimmed hours and let workers go. After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, jobless claims rocketed, manufacturing plunged deeper into recession and consumer confidence plummeted.
Even if companies reduce the speed at which they lay off employees, the jobless rate will keep rising if companies are reluctant to hire workers back.
The nation's unemployment rate jumped from 5.4 percent to 5.7 percent in November, and businesses slashed payrolls by more than 300,000. Since employment peaked in March, 1.2 million Americans have lost their jobs.
Click here for special report on job cuts
Some economists predict the jobless rate will climb close to 7 percent next year before a rebound in economic growth triggers new hiring. In the last recession in 1990-91, the unemployment rate hit 7.8 percent with a job loss of 1.8 million. 
From staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
