"Sandy pushed up claims temporarily, and with this number we are pretty much back to where we were before the hurricane"
- Guy Berger, an economist at RBS Securities Inc.
New applications for the unemployment benefits in the world's biggest economy fell for the third week in a row, as disruptions caused by super storm Sandy waned. The Labor Department said that the number of people who applied for U.S. jobless benefits fell by 25,000 to 370,000 in the week ended December 1, down from 395,000 a week earlier. The four-week moving average, however, edged higher 2,250 to 408,000. Even despite the fact that the jobless claims have not dropped to pre-Sandy levels in the low 360,000s the Friday's report is expected to show a dramatic decline in the number of added jobs. Only 80,000 net jobs were added in November, down sharply from 171,000 in October. The data is adding to concerns that the labour market is not yet on the path of recovery.
"Sandy pushed up claims temporarily, and with this number we are pretty much back to where we were before the hurricane," said Guy Berger, an economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, who accurately projected the drop in claims. "Layoffs are lingering at the same pace. Hiring remains relatively anemic."
"We could reasonably assume there is no underlying deterioration or acceleration in the labor market before the storm," said Pierre Ellis, senior global economist at Decision Economics in New York.
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