SHARE:                                              

Continuing claims for unemployment insurance, or all those excluding first-time filings, fell in the week ending October 3 to below the 6 million mark for the first time since March, according to the USDOL's Weekly Claims Report (click here).

In the week ending October 10, the advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment - continuing claims -- totaled 5,992,000 a decrease of 75,000 from 6,067,000 the previous week. Continuing claims have been trending down since their peak of 6,904,000 in late June, but had repeatedly risen to record high levels earlier in the year.

Economists cautioned, however, despite the latest decrease in continuing claims, they have shown very little improvement since early July. Furthermore, some of the stabilization in continued claims reflects exhaustions of state UI benefits.

In the week ending October 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 514,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 524,000.

Extended benefits were available in 40 states during the week ending September 26 (click here to see the extended benefits trigger report). States reported 3,331,275 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending September 26, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week.