WASHINGTON-The number of new claims for jobless benefits fell to a fourteen-year low last week, the latest sign of an improving labor market.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 in the week ended Oct. 11, the Labor Department said Thursday.
That was below the 290,000 claims forecast by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal and the lowest level since the week of April 15, 2000, when it was 259,000. The Labor Department said there were no special factors affecting the data.
The four-week moving average for initial claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell 4,250 to 283,500.
The report also showed the number of people filing continuing claims for unemployment benefits rose 7,000 to 2.4 million for the week ended Oct. 4. Those figures are reported with a one-week lag.
Jobless claims have been below 300,000 for five consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch since 2006, a sign that employers are eager to hang on to their workers as the economic recovery gains traction.
Hiring has also been picking up. Employers added 248,000 jobs last month, rebounding from a weak August, the Labor Department said last week. Payrolls have expanded by an average of 227,000 a month this year, putting 2014 on track to be the strongest year of job growth since the late 1990s.
At 5.9%, the nation's unemployment rate remains high by historical standards, while many of those who do have jobs are stuck in part-time employment. Citing these and other signs of an abundance of idled labor in the economy, Federal Reserve officials have pledged to keep interest rates at their current level near zero for a "considerable time."
But anecdotal evidence is mounting that labor shortages are developing in some industries. The Federal Reserve's latest "beige book" survey of regional economic conditions found that "some employers had difficulty finding qualified workers for certain positions" in most parts of the country.
The report released Wednesday said that manufacturers in the Boston area, for example, were having trouble finding machinists, while construction projects in Chicago were being delayed by skilled-labor shortages.