Initial Jobless Claims Fall, Still Show Weakness

Washington, DC, April 10, 2008– Initial jobless claims fell 53,000 to 357,000 for the week ending April 5, according to the Labor Department.

The four-week average of those claims rose 2,500 to 378,250 — the highest level since October 2005. The prior weekly result for initial claims was revised to 410,000 from a first estimate of 407,000.

Economists see readings consistently higher than 350,000 as signaling significant weakening in the labor market. Initial claims ranging from about 300,000 to 325,000 indicate a healthy rate of U.S. employment growth.

For the week ending March 29, continuing jobless claims rose 3,000 to 2.94 million – the highest since July 2004. At the same time last year, the level reached 2.51 million.

The four-week moving average of continuing jobless claims rose 36,500 to 2.9 million – the highest level since August 2004.