MW: Weekly U.S. jobless claims fall 24,000 to 435,000
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of workers who filed new claims for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to 435,000, the federal government reported Wednesday, continuing a recent see-saw pattern that's given mixed signals about the U.S. labor market. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to fall to a seasonally adjusted 450,000 in the week ended Nov. 6. The four-week average of initial claims, meanwhile, sank to its lowest level in two years -- down 10,000 to 446,500. The moving average smoothes out quirks in the weekly data and is considered a more accurate gauge of employment trends. Continuing claims declined by 86,000 to 4.30 million. A total of 8.62 million people were getting some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Oct. 23, down almost 308,000 from the prior week.
