The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits fell again last week, continuing a trend that shows a slowly improving labor market in the United States. A separate government report showed a steep rise in prices for food and fuel contributing to the biggest gain in the Consumer Price Index since June 2009.
The jobless claims report from the U.S. Labor Department Thursday said the number of applications for unemployment insurance fell for the third time in four weeks - to a seasonally adjusted figure of 385,000. The four-week average of new unemployment claims was the lowest since July 2008, which was early in the recent economic crisis.
The U.S. central bank said earlier in the week that the job market was improving and the economy was on a "firmer footing," although the recovery was continuing slowly.
上个星期首次申请失业救济的美国人数再次下降，继续显示美国劳工市场在缓慢改善的趋势。另外一份政府报告显示，食品和燃油价格急剧上涨, 导致消费者价格指数出现自从2009年6月以来的最大增幅。
美国劳工部星期四公布的失业报告说，首次申请失业救济的人数四个星期来第三次出现下跌，下降到经过季节调整后的38万5千人。首次申请失业补助的4个星期平均数是2008年7月经济危机初期以来的最低水平。
美国中央银行这个星期早些时候说，美国的就业市场正在改善而且经济也在一个“更为稳固的基础上”，尽管恢复的速度仍然缓慢。