April 10 (Bloomberg) — The fewest number of Americans since before the last recession filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, pointing to more progress in the labor market.
Jobless claims decreased by 32,000 to 300,000 in the week ended April 5, the lowest since May 2007, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The figure was lower than the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 52 economists. The median estimate called for 320,000 claims.
Fewer dismissals will help pave the way for a pickup in hiring as demand recovers from harsh winter weather, providing a bigger boost to the economy. Federal Reserve policy makers are monitoring progress in the labor market as they continue to scale back their bond-buying program based on an improving economic outlook.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
