The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in 10 months, evidence that job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals.
Still, economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October’s figure is reported today. The jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000.
Economists closely watch initial claims, considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of employers’ willingness to hire new workers.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 523,750, its ninth straight decline. That’s 135,000 below the peak for the recession, reached in early April. Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the roughly 400,000 that economists say will signal job creation.
