First-time weekly jobless claims decline by 6,000
Published: March 11, 2010
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MarketWatch on March 11 reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 in the latest week, the second decline in a row. In the week ended March 6, initial claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 462,000 from a revised 468,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department reported March 11. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch.com were expecting claims to dip to 460,000. The four-week average of initial claims rose by 5,000 to 475,500, the highest rate since November. The number of people continuing to receive regular unemployment checks climbed 37,000 in the week of Feb. 27 to a seasonally adjusted 4.56 million. The number of people receiving extended federal benefits fell 159,000 to 5.53 million, not seasonally adjusted, in the week of Feb. 20. All told, 11.36 million people were collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week of Feb. 20, not seasonally adjusted.
