ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100065
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The number of American workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell 13,000 last week from a nine-month high but remained at a level analysts say reflects a softer labor market.
The biggest declines were in Virginia, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina and California.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 361,000, down from a sharply revised 374,000 a week earlier. The drop was the biggest since a fall of 23,000 in the week ended Oct. 19.
Some analysts contended the figures for both weeks were skewed by the Christmas and New Year's holidays, which left fewer days on which to file. But they also said the government typically has difficulty at the end of the year in adjusting the figures for seasonal variations.
The four-week moving average of new weekly jobless claims climbed 2,750 to 357,250, highest since 360,500 during the period ended July 13. Many analysts prefer to track the less-volatile average because it smooths out the spikes in the weekly reports.
States with the largest increases were Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Kentucky.
-Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 33 linesby CNB