Initial Jobless Claims Hit Six-Week Low

Washington, DC, June 24, 2010--Initial jobless applications fell by 19,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 457,000, the lowest in six weeks, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The previous week's initial claims were revised higher by 4,000 to 476,000 as more complete data were collected.

The report was close to market expectations, as economists were looking for a drop to 460,000.

The jobless claims report shows that the level of layoffs -- while down from the peak a year ago -- is too high to be consistent with robust job growth. The economy is creating jobs, but too few to bring the unemployment rate down meaningfully.

The four-week average of new claims was roughly unchanged at 462,750.

Initial claims are down about 24% compared with the same week a year ago but are down only about 1% since the first of the year. Continuing claims are down about 30% compared with a year ago and down about 9% since the first of the year.