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WASHINGTON: New claims for unemployment benefits in the United States edged down last week but gave little respite to the troubled labour market, government data showed on Thursday.
Some 457,000 Americans began claiming benefits in the week to March 13, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week.
The figure was slightly higher than the 455,000 expected by most analysts, prompting disappointment.
"The modest decline in initial claims for unemployment benefits over the past few weeks suggests the US labour market is slowly moving in the right direction, but they remain uncomfortably above 400,000, dashing any expectation that jobs will roar back," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist with Moody's Economy.com.
Despite the dull outlook, Thursday's figures marked the third week in a row that a drop in jobless claims has been seen. They now stand at the lowest level in five weeks.
In the week to March 6, some 4.579 million Americans claimed benefits, according to seasonally adjusted figures.
Amid its most severe recession in decades the US economy has shed millions of jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent in January. - AFP/de
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