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Jobless claims decline

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 9:28 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- New claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to their lowest level in eight months, a hopeful sign that companies may be having a bit more faith in the staying power of the economic recovery and thus are easing the pace of layoffs.

The Labor Department reported today that for the work week ending Oct. 4 new applications for jobless benefits dropped by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 to 382,000, the best showing since Feb. 8. That marked a better performance than analysts were forecasting. They were predicting claims would dip to 395,000 last week.

New claims hit a high this year of 459,000 in the middle of April. With claims last week dipping below 400,000, a level associated with a sluggish labor market. Economists are encouraged that the pace of firings may now be stabilizing.

The more stable, four-week moving average of new claims, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations, declined by 11,500 last week to 393,500, also the lowest level since Feb. 8.

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