First-time claims for US state unemployment benefits were unchanged in the latest data, the Labor Department reported today.
The four-week average of initial claims held steady at 345,250 for the third straight week. It's the lowest level in three years.
The number of initial claims in the week ending January 31st rose by 17,000 to 356,000, the highest in five weeks. A Labor Department official said bad weather in the Midwest and Southeast contributed to the increase but could not quantify the impact.
Bad weather can lead to temporary lay-offs in industries such as construction. Economists say the four-week average is a better gauge of involuntary job losses than the volatile weekly number. At this time of year, seasonal adjustment factors are particularly large, adding to the volatility of the weekly data.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said non-farm productivity increased at a 2.7 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter, down from the 20-year high of 9.5 per cent in the third quarter. For all of 2003, productivity increased 4.2 per cent.
Initial claims have dropped by about 20,000 over the past eight weeks and by 60,000 in the past four months. With claims settling at just under 350,000, economists figure the labour market is now strong enough to show steady job gains of 150,000 or so a month.