Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309240083
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Virginia number dropped 5,814, or 24.6 percent, to 17,844 from July. That was the lowest since 16,561 in September 1989 and the lowest figure for August since 15,320 in August 1987. It also was 6,084, or 25.4 percent, below the August 1992 level of 23,928.
The Virginia Employment Commission said initial claims for August normally show a good improvement over July because plant vacation furloughs, prevalent in July, are over. Tourist and construction activities are at high levels, yet the ecoomy is gearing up for the start of school.
The commission said there have been no massive layoffs, except for previously announced defense reductions, in the six weeks since plant vacations ended.
Nationally, analysts said the claims trend still suggests continued employment growth.
"The numbers are still running at a level consistent with more comfortable employment gains than we were getting previously," said Robert G. Dederick, an economist at the Northern Trust Co. in Chicago.
"The jobless-claims data continue to point to a firming labor market," agreed Bruce Steinberg of Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York.
First-time claims for benefits totaled 335,000, up 11,000 from the previous week and the highest since 339,000 new claims were filed during the week ended July 31.
Economist Michael P. Niemira of Mitsubishi Bank in New York said much of the increase was due to a delay in opening New York City's public schools, which left bus drivers and cafeteria workers without jobs. Excluding the New York factor, he said, "the jobless claims filing pace has stabilized."
The four-week moving average of claims, which most analysts prefer to track because it smooths out the spikes often seen in the weekly filings, rose 1,000, to 326,500, the first advance in six weeks.
by CNB