New jobless claims decline for last week

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 22, 2000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of Americans filing new applications for state unemployment benefits declined last week but still left claims at a level suggesting that the economy's voracious appetite for workers may be easing a little.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new claims for jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 308,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the lowest level since early August.

That was down by 18,000 from the previous week, a bigger drop than many analysts expected.

Despite last week's drop, economists' expect claims to creep up slowly in the coming months as economic growth slows to a more sustainable pace.

"While unemployment claims remain at relatively low levels, the sustained upward trend of the past several months suggests that the tight labor market continues to loosen around the edges," said Merrill Lynch economist Andrew Groat.

The nation's unemployment rate inched up to 4.1 percent in August from 4 percent in July. Yet, August's jobless rate isn't far from the three-decade low of 3.9 percent reached in April.

The more stable four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out week-to-week volatility, also fell last week to 315,750, the lowest level since Aug. 26 when claims stood at 313,000.