Weekly Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since May 2007 - East Idaho News
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Weekly Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since May 2007

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GETTY 41014 Unemployment?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1397135200566Hailshadow/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Jobless claims tumbled last week to the lowest level in nearly seven years, the Labor Department reported Thursday morning.

For the week ending April 5, the number of people filing for benefits dropped by 32,000 to 300,000.

“The last time initial claims were this low was May 12, 2007 when they were 297,000,” the Labor Department said in a press release.

“We’ll need probably a week or two to know how consistent the number we got this week is with the underlying trend,” said economist Guy Berger at RBS Securities. “If we keep getting numbers this low, then I think it would suggest there’s been a moderate improvement in the pace of layoffs.”

The previous week, claims stood at 332,000 — an upward revision of 6,000.

The four-week average also went down, decreasing by 4,750 to 316,250.

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