By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 305,000 in the week ended Sept. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to jump to 327,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. A government official said Labor has been told by California that the state eliminated a backlog of claims that built up after computer-related processing delays. The delays caused the number of initial claims to fall below 300,000 in early September for the first time in more than six years. The average of new claims over the past month, a more reliable gauge than the volatile weekly number, dropped by 7,000 to 308,000. That's the lowest level since June 2007. Also, the government said continuing claims increased by 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.82 million in the week ended Sept. 14. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. Initial claims from two weeks ago, meanwhile, were revised up to 310,000 an original reading of 309,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level.
