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New Jobless Claims Record A Surprising Dip

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 6, 2009

WASHINGTON - The number of new jobless claims and the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits both dropped more than expected last week, though they remain at elevated levels and are unlikely to fall substantially in the coming months.

Few economists expect a turnaround anytime soon in a battered labor market where companies are laying off thousands of workers weekly.

Still, the tally of initial requests for unemployment benefits fell to 639,000 from the previous week's figure of 670,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts expected a smaller drop to 650,000.

The number of people claiming benefits for more than a week fell slightly to 5.1 million in the latest report from 5.12 million, after rising to record-highs for five straight weeks. Analysts expected 5.15 million continuing claims.

The Associated Press

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