New filings for unemployment claims retreated last week after a one-week spike, according to a government report released Thursday. The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits fell to 357,000 in the week ended April 5, down from a revised 410,000 claims in the previous week. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 383,000 from the originally reported 407,000, according to a consensus estimate gathered by Briefing.com. The drop in initial jobless claims comes after the previous week's report showed claims at the highest level since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
See "New jobless claims fall back", Ben Rooney, CNN Money, April 9, 2008