Unemployment Claims Lowest Since June 6

The Labor Department said 315,000 people filed new claims for state unemployment benefits last week, down from a revised 337,000 the week before. That number is the lowest since the week ended June 6, which saw 314,000 claims when the first of two strikes at General Motors Corp. started. This week’s jobless reading is below analysts’ forecasts of 330,000. If the GM strikes continue much longer, said Ray Worseck, a chief economist at A.G. Edwards, “then we may see some second- and third-tier effects in other companies.” The four-week average of new claims, a better gauge of longer-term labor trends, fell to 360,000 from a revised 372,750 the week before and is the lowest since the 351,250 claims for the week ended June 27, the government said.