AlQa'dah 6, 1434, Sep 12, 2013, SPA -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits plunged last week to a seven-year low, but the drop was mostly because of technical problems in two U.S. states that delayed the processing of applications, the government said Thursday. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims fell 31,000 to 292,000 last week, the lowest level since 2006. The four-week moving average of jobless claims, considered a better measure of labor-market trends, fell 7,500 to 321,250, the lowest in six years. A government spokesman said the sharp drop in claims happened because two states upgraded their computer systems last week and did not process all their applications. "This is not necessarily an indication of a change in labor-market conditions," he said. The broader trend in jobless claims has been favorable. Prior to last week's computer problems, claims had fallen 7 percent in the previous three months. However, the decline in claims has not been followed by rapid hiring.
