http://finance.yahoo.com/news/514K-new-US-jobless-claims-apf-1424584190.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 514,000 from an upwardly revised 524,000 the previous week. The fifth decline in six weeks was below Wall Street economists' forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, fell for the sixth straight time to 531,500. That's the lowest since January and about 125,000 below the peak reached in early April.
Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a measure of layoffs and the willingness of companies to add jobs.
"Claims are not yet low enough to indicate rising payrolls, but they certainly suggest" that net job cuts will be lower in October than last month, Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients.
The tally of people continuing to claim benefits dropped by 75,000 to 5.99 million, its first time below 6 million since the week of March 28. Continuing claims data lags initial claims by a week.
Many economists expect that job losses will fall below 200,000 in October from
