The number of newly unemployed Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week, according to a Labor Department report released on Thursday. The Labor Department said the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 623,000, from a revised figure of 636,000 in the previous week. It was below analysts' estimates of 635,000. But, the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 6.78 million — the largest total on records dating back to 1967 and the 17th straight record week. The figures for continuing claims still fall behind initial claims by one week. Auto-related layoffs increased the jobless claims numbers in recent weeks, but a Labor Department analyst said no states said their claims figures were affected by job cuts in that sector last week. The four-week average of initial jobless claims dropped slightly to 626,750—that figure is about 30,000 below the peak for the recession reached in early April. Some economists say the drop is a sign the recession is bottoming out. Jobless claims reflect the number of job cuts by companies. Still, claims remain far above levels in a healthier economy. Weekly initial claims were 378,000 a year ago. The problematic rise in continuing claims for jobless benefit means the unemployment rate, which reached 8.9 percent in April, will rise in May, economists said. Many economists expect the rate to approach 10 percent by the end of this year. Even if layoffs are slowing, jobs are hard to find. A net total of more than 5.7 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.
