Washington, DC, January 19, 2006--First-time claims for unemployment benefits plunged by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 271,000 in the week ending Jan. 14, the Labor Department said.
This is the lowest level since mid-April 2000.
The four-week average of new claims fell by 12,000 to 299,000 last week, the lowest since mid-October 2000.
The drop was unexpected. Economists were expecting an increase in initial claims to about 317,000.
Claims in the previous week were revised to an increase of 15,000 to 307,000 compared with the initial estimate of a 17,000 gain to 309,000.
The claims data are very volatile this time of year. The government's statistical seasonal adjustment factors cannot completely smooth out the massive swings in seasonal employment in December and January.
Unadjusted claims fell by 116,581 to 438,385 in the latest week after spiking 79,077 in the previous week.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits, meanwhile, fell by 158,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.53 million in the week ending Jan. 7. This is the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 24, 2001. The four-week average of continuing claims fell by 24,000 to 2.66 million.
The insured unemployment rate - the ratio of those receiving benefits to those who are covered by unemployment insurance - fell to 2.0% from 2.1% in the previous week.
