Unemployment insurance claims in the US tumbled to the lowest point in 10 months yesterday, a positive sign for the troubled jobs market, the US government reported.
The Labor Department said the number of people filing claims for jobless benefits last week (week ending 5 December) dropped from 404,000 two weeks ago to 381,000 – the lowest since February.
Sara Kline at Moody’s Analytics called the figure “an encouraging sign,” but warned of headwinds coming from Europe, where economic growth is slowing sharply amid the eurozone debt crisis.
“Firms are becoming more willing to hold onto existing workers, as renewed profitability and signs the recovery is gaining steam are supporting business confidence,” she said, but she noted that there are still “downside risks, most notable economic worries in Europe.”
The report confirms that the unemployment rate in America is on the decline. It sank to a 32-month low of 8.6 per cent in November, down from 9 per cent in October.
In October of 2009 the rate reached a 26 year high of 10.1 per cent.
