Weekly Jobless Claims Aid Fall For First Time in Three Weeks

Down.

Let’s take a look at our weekly unemployment applications aid report, shall we?

Applications for jobless benefits declined by 42,000 for the week ending April 6, bringing the total to 346,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 388,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

It's the first drop in initial claims in three weeks.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, rose by 3,000, bringing the total to 358,000, up from the previous average of 355,000.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 30, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report states.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 30 was 3,079,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,091,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,079,250, an increase of 5,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,074,000,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 30 were Pennsylvania (+3,015), New Jersey (+2,409), Illinois (+2,149), Kentucky (+1,718), and Wisconsin (+1,583).

Meanwhile, Texas (-3,489), California (-2,661), North Carolina (-1,601), Arkansas (-1,221), and Connecticut (-774) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets are responding positively to the news: