Posted at 11:18 a.m., Thursday, November 8, 2001

Unemployment claims decline nationwide

Advertiser News Services

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level in six weeks, a government report showed.

Initial jobless claims dropped to a level of 450,000 in the week that ended Saturday from 496,000 the prior week. Last week's level was the lowest since the week ended Sept. 15, when unemployed workers stayed home to watch news about the deadliest terrorist attacks in history instead of filing jobless claims.

The statistics may suggest that companies are refraining from further job cuts amid expectations the economy will improve next year.