US Jobless Claims Fall 20K to 307K in Jan27 Wk;315k Expected

BY

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment fell 20,000 to 307,000 in the January 27 week, following a slight upward revision to the previous week s level, the Labor Department reported Thursday morning.

Initial claims came in slightly below the median expectation. Forecasts in a Market News International survey had centered on 315,000 new claims, within a range of 310,000 to 325,000.

The Labor Department cited "no special factors."
Seasonal factors had expected initial unadjusted claims to increase 4.1%, or about 15,000, in the January 27 week, a Labor Department analyst said. Instead, unadjusted claims fell 2.1%, or 7,787 to 359,752. The level of unadjusted initial claims still remains well above the 318,805 level in the comparable week a year ago.

The four-week moving average for initial claims in the January 27 week fell 4,500 to 304,750, its lowest level since the week ended Feb. 25, 2006 when it stood at 301,500.

Initial claims in the January 20 week were revised up slightly to 327,000 from a previously reported 325,000 level, up 40,000 from the previous week s level.
Continuing claims rose 71,000 to 2.553 million in the January 20 week, above the 2.526 million level in the comparable week in 2006 and their highest level since Jan. 14, 2006, when they stood at 2.565 million.

Unadjusted continuing claims increased 189,084 to 3.115 million in the January 20 week, above the 3.052 million level in the comparable week in 2006. The four-week moving average rose 30,500 to 2.483 million in the January 20 week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.9% in the January 20 week. The rate was 2.0% in the comparable week a year ago.

The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is roughly half that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.

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