Claims for jobless benefits dropped last week in the U.S., matching the lowest level in four years, more evidence the labour market is improving.
Applications for unemployment insurance payments fell by 14,000 to 351,000 in the week ended March 10, U.S. Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 357,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Claims reached the same level a month ago, the lowest since March 2008.
Companies have slowed the pace of firings and are expanding their workforces as sales and confidence improve and the threat of financial contagion from a European default diminishes. A Department report last week showed job growth in February capped the best six months since 2006.
Estimates for first-time claims ranged from 348,000 to 375,000 in the Bloomberg News survey of 52 economists. The U.S. Labor Department revised the prior week’s applications to 365,000 from the initially reported 362,000.
Another Department report today showed wholesale prices climbed in February by the most in five months, reflecting a jump in fuel costs. The producer price index rose 0.4% following a 0.1-percentage-point increase the prior month.
Manufacturing in the New York region expanded in March at the fastest pace since June 2010, another report showed. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index unexpectedly increased to 20.2 this month from 19.5 in February. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the so-called Empire State Index, which covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.
Consumer confidence rose last week to the highest level in four years, another report showed.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index climbed to minus 33.7 in the period to March 11, the strongest since March 2008, from minus 36.7 the previous week. A buying-climate gauge reached the highest level since November 2007, and a measure of the state of the economy had its best showing since September 2008.
