Categories: Retirement Planning and Investing

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in a Month

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in a Month (Bloomberg)

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest in a month economic gains spurred employers to retain workers. Jobless claims declined by 15,000 to 330,000 in the period ended Jan. 4, the Labor Department reported today. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 335,000. The data can be volatile after the holidays as temporary workers are dismissed, a Labor Department spokesman said. Employers are probably becoming more confident that the economy will pick up as consumer spending improves and fiscal constaints loosen a bit after lawmakers recently agreed on ways to limit planned budget cuts for this year. A report tomorrow is projected to show that the employment gain for 2013 was the largest in eight years.

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Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.