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US jobless claims fall 12,000 in latest week

WASHINGTON - The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless aid decreased by a larger-than-expected 12,000 last week, the government said on Thursday, while the number of longer-term unemployed unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since June.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to 308,000 in the week ended Oct. 6 from an upwardly revised 320,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said, and was roughly on par with the same period a year ago.

“It looks as if companies are maintaining their labor forces, not reducing them, which is good news heading into the holiday shopping season,” said Gary Thayer, chief economist at A.G. Edwards and Sons in St. Louis, Missouri.

In the financial markets, US Treasury debt prices lost ground after the jobless claims data and a separate report about the US trade balance showed pockets of improvement in the economy.

Benchmark 10-year notes US10YTRR were trading down 8/32 in price for a 4.69 percent yield, up from 4.66 percent late Wednesday and 4.67 percent shortly before the data. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Two-year note yields US2YTRR climbed slightly above 4.20 percent, the first time since Aug. 31

The new claims figures exceeded Wall Street economists’ forecasts for a drop to 315,000 from the original reading of 317,000 in the week ended Sept. 29.

The four-week moving average of new claims, closely watched because it flattens volatility in the weekly data, fell by 3,000 to 310,250 in the week ended Oct. 6.

The number of so-called continued claims fell for the second straight week, dropping by 15,000 to 2.52 million in the week ended Sept. 22, the latest period for which figures were available. Economists had forecast a rise to 2.55 million.

The number of people already receiving jobless benefits after drawing an initial week of aid dropped to its lowest level since June 16 when claims measured 2.49 million.