The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims dropped 1,000 to 202,000 in the seven days to January 6th, the lowest level since mid-October. Economists surveyed by FactSet were expecting claims of 205,000. The four-week moving average, reported with a one-week lag, was 207,750, a decrease of 250 from the previous week, while continuing claims came in at 1.83m, down 34,000. Stuart Hoffman, senior economic adviser at PNC Financial Services Group, said the report suggests that “businesses are not laying off workers but are cutting back on hiring. This is consistent with slower but still positive employment growth as seen in the monthly jobs numbers and the hiring data.”
