JOBLESS REPORT

Weekly jobless claims hold steady in latest week Economists have no doubt claims are heading higher By Greg Robb, MarketWatch Last update: 8:31 a.m. EDT Oct. 30, 2008 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Jobless claims held steady in the latest week after a large jump in the previous period, the government reported Thursday. New applications for state unemployment benefits remained unchanged at 479,000 in the week ended Oct. 25. About 7,500 new claims stemmed from Hurricane Ike, but the effect on the data is starting to diminish, a Labor Department official said. Economists had expected claims to fall to 473,000 after the large jump in the previous period. Claims rose a revised 16,000 in the week ended October 18, up slightly from the initial estimate of a 15,000 gain. But overall, economists have no doubt that claim are heading higher as the economy weakens and the credit crunch lingers. Claims hit a peak of 499,000 in late September. Claims are already much higher than one year ago levels. In the week ended October 27, 2007, there were 332,000 initial jobless claims reported. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 475,500. The four-week average is considered a better indicator of trends because it is not impacted by holidays or weather. This is the second straight weekly decline after the average hit a seven-year high of 484,750. Meanwhile, the number of people collecting regular state unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.72 million in the week ended Oct. 18, while the four-week average of continuing claims rose by 28,000 to 3.71 million, the highest in more than five years. Typically, unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks for those who are eligible. The new law extends unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks under the separate federal program. Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs. The U.S. economy has lost jobs for nine consecutive months, and more losses are expected in October. So far in 2008, nonfarm payrolls have fallen by 760,000 to stand at 137.3 million. Benefits are generally available for those who lose their full-time job through no fault of their own. Those who exhaust their benefits are still counted as unemployed if they are actively looking for work. In a separate report, the government reported that growth contracted slightly in the third quarter, falling 0.3%. End of Story