The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped by a surprisingly large 8,000 last week to the lowest level in 11 months, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Initial filings for state unemployment insurance aid fell to 290,000 in the week ended January 13 from a revised 298,000 in the previous week. That was the lowest since the week of February 18, 2006, and was contrary to forecasts by Wall Street analysts that new claims would rise to 315,000. A department analyst said there were no special factors to account for the drop but noted that seasonal adjustments can skew the data and lead to sharp fluctuations during holiday periods.
See "Jobless Claims Post Surprising Drop Last Week", Reuters, The New York Times, January 17, 2007