Unemployment claims fall last week

Unemployment claims fell by 11,000 last week, bolstering hopes that the job market will recover from the credit crisis. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims is now 330,000, lower than earlier this month but still up from 322,000 at this time last year, The Department of Labor reported. The four-week moving average decreased 750 to 329,750; the previous week’s revised average was 330,500, the DOL said. Insured unemployment claims stood at about 2.56 million for the week-ending Nov. 10, a 7,000 increase from the preceding week, but holding the insured unemployment rate steady at 1.9%. The four-week moving average increased 10,750 to more than 2.57 million.