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Jobless claims edge higher
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October 2, 1997: 8:50 a.m. ET
Number of people seeking jobless benefits rises 1,000 to 308,000
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time barely increased last week, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.
Initial jobless claims rose 1,000 to 308,000 for the week ended Sept. 27 from a revised 307,000 the previous week.
The figure showed a stronger labor market than had been anticipated by economists, who predicted a rise of 4,000 claims for last week.
The number of people continuing their unemployment benefits rose to 2.22 million last week from 2.20 million.
Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities, said the low reading of continued claims for a second straight week was the real story in the job figures.
"This is among the lowest levels we've seen for this business expansion," he explained. Usually, Moran said, the figure tends to rise after a low week.
However, over the last four weeks, initial jobless claims were still lower. The four-week moving average fell to 308,750 from a revised 313,000 the week before. The four-week average is seen as a better indicator of labor market strength because it irons out the effect of any one week of volatility.
Just after the report, the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell 6/32, pushing the yield up to 6.34 percent.
The jobless claims figures come one day ahead of the monthly unemployment rate report, due to be issued Friday. Analysts look for that figure to fall to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent the previous month.
-- Randy Schultz
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U.S. Labor Department
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