US weekly jobless claims have dropped to 468,000. Today's figure by the US Labour Department is far lower than the 510,000 analysts expected.
But it's believed the statistics fail to show the full extent of job cuts following the September 11th attacks.
The airline industry has been hardest hit, with more than 120,000 jobs lost.
Boeing, the biggest maker of commercial jetliners, said last month it will fire as many as 30,000 employees, or 15 per cent of its workforce.
The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims rose 8,000 to 463,000, the highest level since 1991.
On an unadjusted basis, claims rose 26,130 to 426,525.
There were 294,309 claims in the comparable week last year.
PA
