Weekly unemployment benefit claims drop to 326k
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 2,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, a sign that layoffs are weighing less on the job market and economic growth.
The Labor Department said Thursday
that the less volatile four-week average dropped 13,500 to 335,000.
More than 4.7 million Americans
collected benefits at the end of last year. The figure has declined almost 1.2
million over the past 12 months. But that number is poised drop by another 1.35
million in upcoming weeks. That's because a special federal program expired
last month and is starting to affect recipients.
Applications appear to have stabilized
near pre-recession levels, a positive sign for hiring going forward.
The job market had picked up toward
the end of last year before losing some momentum in December. A mere 74,000
jobs were created last month, after the economy added an average of 213,500 new
jobs in the previous four months.
Many economists blamed the slowdown in
hiring on bad weather and statistical quirks, and projected stronger gains in
the new year.
The unemployment rate fell last month
to 6.7 percent from 7 percent in November. Much that decrease came from 347,000
unemployed workers leaving the workforce. The government counts people as
unemployed only if they are looking for work.
The expiration of long-term benefits
could lead to further declines in the unemployment rate, perhaps as much as a
quarter of percentage point in early 2014. That's because many of the former
recipients will give up on job searches, which are required in order to receive
benefits.
The program provided up to 47 extra
weeks of unemployment benefits, paid for by the federal government. Those
benefits offered payments averaging $256 a week to the long-term unemployed who
exhausted their state benefits, which usually last for six months.
The Senate failed to advance an
extension of benefits on Tuesday after lawmakers devoted a week toward
hammering out a deal.
Because the figures for all benefits recipients are released with a two-week lag, the Labor Department has yet to report the impact of the program's end.
There are signs that recent hiring has helped to bolster the economy. Consumer confidence and retail spending have picked up in the October-December quarter. Orders to U.S. manufacturers rose in November, a sign that businesses are investing more on factory-made items such as machinery, computers and electrical goods.
The economy remains far from healthy.
Income rose at a slower pace than spending last month, so Americans are
spending more but saving less. And sales of existing homes have dropped for
three straight months, held back by higher prices and mortgage rates.
Still, many economists have become
more optimistic about the fourth quarter. Several are projecting a strong
annual growth rate of 3 percent or more.