WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 439,000 for the week ending March 27, tying the lowest level of this year, the Labor Department reported today.
Continuing claims decreased to 4.662 million for the week ending March 20, the sixth consecutive week without an increase. Continuing claims are at the lowest level since December 2008.
Economists expected 440,000 initial claims and 4.600 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
The 439,000 initial claims ties the lowest level of the year, matching the level from the week ended Feb. 6. Initial claims for the week ending March 20 were revised higher to 445,000 from 442,000. Initial claims have fallen from a high of 651,000 claims set in March 2009 amid the worst of the current recession.
Nine states reported a decrease of more than 1,000 initial claims for the week ending March 20, partly because of fewer layoffs in construction employment. Oklahoma and Illinois reported increases of more than 1,000 initial claims for the week.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile figure, fell to 447,350, the third consecutive decline and the lowest level since September 2008. The four-week average for continuing claims has fallen for 26 straight weeks to 4.679 million.
The Labor Department tomorrow releases the employment situation for March. Economists are expecting nonfarm payrolls to increase by 190,000 and for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 9.7%.
