Initial Jobless Claims Better Than Expected

Washington, DC, March 5, 2009--Initial jobless claims fell to 639,000 from the previous week's figure of 670,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts expected a smaller drop to 650,000.

The 670,000 total was a new high for the current recession and the most since October 1982, when the economy was emerging from a severe downturn, though the labor force has grown by half since then.

The number of people claiming benefits for more than a week fell slightly to 5.1 million from 5.12 million, after rising to record-highs for five straight weeks. Analysts expected 5.15 million continuing claims.

The four-week average of new claims, which smooths out fluctuations, increased 2,000 to 641,750, the highest since October 1982.

Among the states, Illinois reported the biggest increase in new jobless claims with a jump of 3,791 for the week ended Feb. 21, due mainly to layoffs in the construction, trade and manufacturing industries. The next largest increases were in Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio and California.

Florida had the largest decrease, a drop of 3,586 claims, due to fewer layoffs in the construction, trade and service industries. The next largest drops were in Virginia, New York, Michigan and New Jersey.