Jobless Claims Fell By 8,000 Last Week; Superstorm Sandy Might Be Factor

By Mark Memmott

Published November 8, 2012 at 7:40 AM CST

Job-related booklets at a New York State Department of Labor Employment Services office in Brooklyn.

There were 355,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down by 8,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says.

But a measure designed to show the trend edged up: "The 4-week moving average was 370,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 367,250."

And, The Associated Press says, the week-over-week decline might have been due in part to Superstorm Sandy: Some people who might have applied for benefits couldn't because of the damage the storm inflicted on parts of New Jersey, New York and surrounding states.

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

See stories by Mark Memmott