Jobless Claims Dip

May 2, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Department of Labor (DoL)'s latest unemployment insurance weekly claims report showed initial claims dipping slightly, though still remaining above the key 400,000 level that economists view as symptomatic of a struggling economy.

According to the DoL, the number of Americans filing their first benefits applications fell by 10,000 to 418,000 in the week ending April 27, from the previous week’s revised total of 428,000.
 
After seven weeks of rising following President Bush’s extended benefits package, the four-week moving average, a better measure of the unemployment picture, dipped to 435,750 from 454,250 recorded for a week earlier.

The data comes ahead of the release of tomorrow’s much-anticipated monthly unemployment figures for April. The unemployment rate currently stands at 5.7%.

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