WASHINGTON (24/10) - MarketWatch — The number of people who applied for
U.S. unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, but the
level of initial claims remained elevated because of ongoing computer
problems in California that prevented many applications from being
processed on time. Initial claims fell by 12,000 to 350,000 in
the week ended Oct. 19, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists
surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to fall to a seasonally adjusted
337,000. The four-week average of claims, usually a more
reliable number, jumped by 10,750 to 348,250 to mark the highest level
since early July. New claims have zig-zagged wildly since early
September because of processing delays in California, the nation’s most
populous state. The delays were triggered by a buggy computer-systems
upgrade that affected thousands of new or continuing claims, according
to state newspaper reports. Officials may have also understated the
problem for weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported. Jobless
claims leaped to a six-month high in early October because of the
distorted California data as well as private-sector layoffs related to
the government shutdown. It could be weeks until a “clean” reading is
released, economists say. Before the problems in California
cropped up, initial claims were averaging around 325,000 a week. That
was the lowest level since the end of the recession and largely
reflected dwindling layoffs. Whether claims return to that level
remains to be seen. The shutdown may have damaged the economy, at least
temporarily, and companies are watching their payrolls carefully as the
year winds down and the new health-care law is set to take effect. The
weekly claims figure does not include furloughed government employees,
who can seek benefits under a separate program. Some 44,132 employees
applied for benefits in the week of Oct. 12, down from 70,071 in the
prior week but still far higher the 1,400 applications filed in the week
before the shutdown began. Federal workers typically have to
give back any jobless benefits once they receive their government
backpay for days missed during the shutdown. Meanwhile, the
government said continuing jobless claims in the week ended Oct. 12 fell
by 8,000 to 2.87 million. Continuing claims reflect the number of
people already receiving benefits. 25 Oktober 2013
U.S. jobless claims drop 12,000 to 350,000
WASHINGTON (24/10) - MarketWatch — The number of people who applied for
U.S. unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, but the
level of initial claims remained elevated because of ongoing computer
problems in California that prevented many applications from being
processed on time. Initial claims fell by 12,000 to 350,000 in
the week ended Oct. 19, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists
surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to fall to a seasonally adjusted
337,000. The four-week average of claims, usually a more
reliable number, jumped by 10,750 to 348,250 to mark the highest level
since early July. New claims have zig-zagged wildly since early
September because of processing delays in California, the nation’s most
populous state. The delays were triggered by a buggy computer-systems
upgrade that affected thousands of new or continuing claims, according
to state newspaper reports. Officials may have also understated the
problem for weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported. Jobless
claims leaped to a six-month high in early October because of the
distorted California data as well as private-sector layoffs related to
the government shutdown. It could be weeks until a “clean” reading is
released, economists say. Before the problems in California
cropped up, initial claims were averaging around 325,000 a week. That
was the lowest level since the end of the recession and largely
reflected dwindling layoffs. Whether claims return to that level
remains to be seen. The shutdown may have damaged the economy, at least
temporarily, and companies are watching their payrolls carefully as the
year winds down and the new health-care law is set to take effect. The
weekly claims figure does not include furloughed government employees,
who can seek benefits under a separate program. Some 44,132 employees
applied for benefits in the week of Oct. 12, down from 70,071 in the
prior week but still far higher the 1,400 applications filed in the week
before the shutdown began. Federal workers typically have to
give back any jobless benefits once they receive their government
backpay for days missed during the shutdown. Meanwhile, the
government said continuing jobless claims in the week ended Oct. 12 fell
by 8,000 to 2.87 million. Continuing claims reflect the number of
people already receiving benefits. 
