Unemployment claims hover near lowest level since ’07

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filling for unemployment insurance payments last week hovered near the lowest level in almost seven years, showing the job market is making progress.

Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000 the prior period that was the lowest since September 2007, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to 315,000. The total number of people receiving benefits fell to the lowest since the last recession began.

Dismissals are on the decline as companies, already lean from recession- era job cutting, gear up for rising sales as the economy strengthens. Even with the improvement, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Wednesday that policymakers must be mindful of how short the United States still remains of achieving its goals of full employment and price stability.

“Not only have you had a slowdown in layoffs, but also the total number of people on state benefit rolls has fallen,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, who forecast for claims of 305,000. “The labor market is getting better.”

Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 295,000 to 328,000. The prior week’s claims were revised up from an initial reading of 300,000.

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, dropped to 312,000, the lowest since October 2007, from 316,750 the week before.

Claims may be in for some big- ger swings in coming weeks as the Easter holiday, which varies from year to year, can complicate the adjustment of claims data for seasonal variations.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits declined by 11,000 to 2.74 million in the week ended April 5, the fewest since December 2007. California and Iowa showed the largest decreases in claims for that week. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and typically decrease before job growth can accelerate.