US unemployment claims point to solid jobs report

Washington (AFP) – Another week of low claims for unemployment insurance pointed Thursday to a likely solid report on the US jobs market this week.

The Labor Department said that initial US jobless claims, an indicator of the pace of layoffs, fell again last week to 249,000, down 5,000 from the previous week.

“This marks 83 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

The streak of low claims attests to steady tightening of the employment market, with the economy pumping out an average of 181,000 jobs a month so far this year.

Analysts expect Friday’s September jobs report will be in the same range, and that the unemployment rate will hold at 4.9 percent as more Americans return to the jobs market.