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发帖数: 21396 | 1 不过应该是暂时现象。随着油价暴跌，本版未来几个月失业率骤升中。
U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 14-Year Low
WASHINGTON—The number of new claims for jobless benefits fell to a 14-year
low last week, the latest sign of an improving labor market.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 23,000 to a seasonally
adjusted 264,000 in the week ended Oct. 11, the Labor Department said
Thursday.
That was below the 290,000 claims forecast by economists surveyed by The
Wall Street Journal and the lowest level since the week of April 15, 2000,
when it was 259,000. The Labor Department said there were no special factors
affecting the data.
“This is a clear signal of real strength in the labor market,” said Ian
Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The report also showed the four-week moving average for initial claims,
which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell 4,250 to 283,500.
The number of people filing continuing claims for unemployment benefits rose
7,000 to 2.4 million for the week ended Oct. 4. Those figures are reported
with a one-week lag.
The data marked the fifth consecutive week initial claims have been below
300,000, the longest such stretch since 2006. As the economic recovery gains
traction, employers are increasingly reluctant to lay off workers. They are
also becoming increasingly willing to hire new ones.
Payrolls have expanded by an average of 227,000 a month this year, putting
2014 on track to be the strongest year of job growth since the late 1990s.
At 5.9%, the nation’s unemployment rate remains high by historical
standards, and many of those who do have jobs are stuck in part-time
employment. Citing these and other signs of an abundance of idled labor in
the economy, Federal Reserve officials have pledged to keep interest rates
at their current level near zero for a “considerable time.”
The report released Wednesday said that manufacturers in the Boston area,
for example, were having trouble finding machinists, while construction
projects in Chicago were being delayed by skilled-labor shortages. |
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