Weekly Jobless Claims Fall, Trade Gap Drops 10 Percent
Published: Thursday, 9 Aug 2012
By: Reuters
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week while the trade deficit in June was the smallest in 1-1/2 years, hopeful signs for the struggling economy.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, suggesting a modest improvement in the jobs market.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 370,000 last week. The four-week moving average of new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 2,250 to 368,250...