Annual revisions to data cause lower-than-expected number
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped for the third time in four weeks but the job market remains weak.
Initial claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 442,000 in the week ended March 20, the Labor Department said Thursday. In the prior week, claims were revised to 456,000.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch predicted claims would drop to 450,000. But the latest figures reflect annual revisions to the data that put claims 10,000 lower than they would have been under the old methodology, a Labor Department official said.
The four-week average -- a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number - declined 11,000 to 453,750.
Despite the decline, there's little evidence of a strong hiring trend. Most companies are reluctant to add workers until demand picks up. The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.7% - near a 27-year low - and there's scant evidence that growth in the economy is accelerating.
Jobless claims would have to fall to 400,000 or below to indicate a hiring trend, economists say.
Meanwhile, the number of people who continue to get regular state unemployment checks dropped 54,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4.65 million in the week ended March 13. Those data are the most recent available.
The federal government has extended benefits until the end of the year to help workers who can't find jobs. Regular unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks.
In the week of March 6, the number of workers receiving extended federal benefits decreased 345,000 to 5.7 million, not seasonally adjusted.
Altogether, 11.17 million people were collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week of March 6, down from 11.65 million. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
