The US government today reported a bigger-than expected falloff in jobless workers applying for state unemployment aid.
The number of workers filing initial jobless claims plunged by 56,000 to a seasonally adjusted 395,000 for the week ended January 5th from a revised 451,000 a week earlier.
Much of the decline in first-time claims could be linked to California workers delaying their applications to take advantage of increased benefits under a new state law, which takes effect during the second full week of January, the department said.
Nonetheless, the latest decline surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts who forecast, on average, initial claims would slip to 435,000.
Even with last week's drop in claims, the US labour market remains weak as the economy struggles out of recession. The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable barometer of employment trends because it irons out weekly fluctuations, crept down to 410,500 claims from 410,750.