US weekly jobless claims fell to 361,000, the Labor Department has said, in another sign that the jobs market has some moderate strength despite the second quarter lull in hiring.
New claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of the pace of layoffs, fell by 6,000 in the week to August 4 from the previous week; the four-week moving average for new claims was at 368,250.
Meanwhile, the US trade deficit narrowed in June for the third straight month, with a slight rise in exports adding to a fall in imports to cut the shortfall, the Department of Commerce said Thursday.
The data added to the modestly positive picture painted by the monthly job creation numbers for July released last Friday, when the department said the economy generated a net 163,000 new jobs, a strong rise after June's dismal 64,000 number.
The unemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 8.3pc in July, but that was mainly due to rounding of jobless numbers that were in reality little-changed for the month.
"The clear decline [in claims numbers] since June provides some corroboration of the better-than-expected payrolls reading last week.
In short, encouraging data for the recovery," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.
The high level of unemployment and the economy's ability to generate jobs and boost family incomes is seen as the most important issue in the battle between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win the White House in November's Presidential election.
Meanwhile, the trade gap for the month was $42.9bn, the smallest deficit since December 2010, when total trade was 10pc less. Exports continued their steady climb, rising to $185bn.
The three month moving average for exports, at $183.7bn, was 5.1pc above the average of a year earlier of $174.7bn. Imports were $227.9bn; the three-month average of $230.9bn was up 4.1pc from a year earlier, AFP reported.
telegraph.co.uk
New claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of the pace of layoffs, fell by 6,000 in the week to August 4 from the previous week; the four-week moving average for new claims was at 368,250.
Meanwhile, the US trade deficit narrowed in June for the third straight month, with a slight rise in exports adding to a fall in imports to cut the shortfall, the Department of Commerce said Thursday.
The data added to the modestly positive picture painted by the monthly job creation numbers for July released last Friday, when the department said the economy generated a net 163,000 new jobs, a strong rise after June's dismal 64,000 number.
The unemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 8.3pc in July, but that was mainly due to rounding of jobless numbers that were in reality little-changed for the month.
"The clear decline [in claims numbers] since June provides some corroboration of the better-than-expected payrolls reading last week.
In short, encouraging data for the recovery," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.
The high level of unemployment and the economy's ability to generate jobs and boost family incomes is seen as the most important issue in the battle between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win the White House in November's Presidential election.
Meanwhile, the trade gap for the month was $42.9bn, the smallest deficit since December 2010, when total trade was 10pc less. Exports continued their steady climb, rising to $185bn.
The three month moving average for exports, at $183.7bn, was 5.1pc above the average of a year earlier of $174.7bn. Imports were $227.9bn; the three-month average of $230.9bn was up 4.1pc from a year earlier, AFP reported.
telegraph.co.uk
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