U.S. jobless claims fall

U.S. initial claims for unemployment decreased in the week ending on February 5, reaching 383,000 compared to the previous week, official data showed here Thursday.

The Department of Labor indicated that in the week the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 383,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 419,000. It added that the four-week moving average was 415,500, a decrease of 16, 000 from the previous week’s revised average of 431,500.

According to the Department, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1 percent for the week ending January 29, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.1 percent.

Also, the advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 29 was 3,888,000, a decrease of 47,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,935,000. The four-week moving average was 3,932,250, an increase of 250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,932,000.

The latest U.S. unemployment figure shrank to nine percent in January from 9.4 percent in late 2010 making it the second consecutive month the unemployment rate fell dramatically.