State Jobless Claims Continue to Decline

New claims for state unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, by a seasonally adjusted 8,000 to 444,000, the Labor Department said.

The decline in new claims last week put them at the lowest level since the week ended Sept. 15. That earlier report, however, did not capture layoffs resulting from the Sept. 11 attacks. In the two weeks after that report, jobless claims rocketed.

Despite the decline, the number of laid-off Americans collecting benefits reached an 18-year high of 3.83 million for the work week ended Nov. 3, indicating jobless workers are having a difficult time finding employment.

The more stable four-week moving average of new claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, declined to 474,750, the lowest since early October.