The number of American workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the United States fell last week for the fifth time in six weeks, a sign that improvements, albeit slow, in the job market continue.
Initial jobless claims fell 16 to 21.000 in the week ended Nov. 323.000, while analysts expected a decline to 335.000, the Labor Department reported. The previous week's figure was revised upwards to 344.000 units from 399.000 in the first estimate.
The four-week average, more reliable as it is not subject to market fluctuations, dropped to 338.500. The figure remains steadily below 400.000 units, a threshold which according to analysts signals a stalemate. The total number of workers receiving unemployment benefits for more than one week – for the week ending November 9, the latest for which data is available – rose by 66.000 to 2.876.000.
