WASHINGTON, July 24 - The number of Americans lodging new jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since February, the government said on Thursday in a report showing surprising strength in the long-depressed U.S. job market. The level of new claims, which gives an early reading on the resilience of the job market, plunged by 29,000 to 386,000 in the July 19 week, down from a revised 415,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
New claims were far below Wall Street expectations for 413,000 new claims, and the lowest since the week of February 8. It was the first time initial claims fell below the critical 400,000 mark, a level viewed by economists as the sign of a soft jobs market. Claims had been above 400,000 for 22 straight weeks. A department spokesman urged caution in reading too much into one week's figure, saying "it is not uncommon for the series to exhibit volatility during July because of traditional temporary layoffs in industries such as automobiles, textiles and apparel." The fall brought the average weekly rate of initial claims over the past four weeks to 419,250, down from 424,750 in the prior four-week period. Some economists consider the four-week average a better indicator of the health of the jobs market and the economy because it smooths out the weekly volatility.///