Initial jobless claims in U.S. decline

Initial jobless claims in U.S. decline
WASHINGTON: The number of new applicants in the United States claiming unemployment benefits declined last week, according to a report by the labor department Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims came down by 13,000 to 313,000 in the week ended 23 June. Analysts had predicted a marginally smaller drop to 315,000 from an initially reported 324,000 in the prior week.

The four-week moving average rose to 316,000 from 315,000.

The new figures indicate that the job market is in good health and companies are retaining staff.

For the year so far, the average weekly claims had been at 318,600 compared with 313,000 for the full year of 2006.

The report said the number of people continuing to collect state unemployment benefits fell to 2.490 million in the week that ended 16 June from 2.517 million in the prior week. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits remained at 1.9 per cent for the ninth consecutive week.

Sixteen states and territories had an increase in new claims, while 37 reported declines.

A report from the commerce department showed the country's economy expanded at an annual pace of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter, which is the slowest pace in four years. This increase compares with the 0.6 per cent increase estimated for May and a 2.5 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2006.