The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits last week fell to its lowest level since early January, largely because of changes in the timing of auto industry layoffs. Continuing claims, meanwhile, unexpectedly jumped to a record high. While layoffs are slowing, unemployed workers are having a difficult time finding new jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 9.5% last month and is expected to top 10% by the end of the year. New claims for unemployment insurance plummeted by 52,000 to 565,000, the Labor Department said today. That was significantly below analysts’ expectations of 605,000, according to Thomson Reuters. The last time new claims were below 600,000 was week of Jan. 24. Still, continuing claims jumped 159,000 to 6.88 million, the highest on records dating from 1967. Analysts had expected 6.71 million continuing claims.
New U.S. jobless claims fall; continuing claims set record
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