Initial US jobless claims fell by 36,000 to a level of 837,000 in the week ended Sept. 26 from the previous week’s revised level, the US Department of Labor reported today. The previous week’s level was revised upward by 3,000.
The four-week moving average of jobless claims — which smooths results — fell, by 11,750 to a level of 867,250 from the previous week’s average, which was revised upward by 750.
The Associated Press reported the Labor Department’s report suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly numbers have become less reliable as states have increased their efforts to root out fraudulent claims and process earlier applications that have piled up.
“Unless employment growth picks up, or additional (government) aid is extended, consumer spending is at risk of slowing dramatically during the second phase of the recovery,” said Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics.