US unemployment figs hold steady

The US Labour department has said the number of Americans seeking state unemployment benefits held steady just below the 400,000 level last week.

The department said the average number of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims over the past four weeks was unchanged at 392,250.

The four-week average had declined by 19,000 in the previous four weeks.

In the week ending October 18, new claims were down 4,000 to 386,000. The four-week average is considered a better gauge of the state of the labour market than the weekly number.

Americans collecting state benefits fell 84,000 to a six-month low of 3.54 million in the week ending October 11.

The insured unemployment rate - the percentage of all eligible workers who received benefit cheques - dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 2.8%, the lowest in six weeks.

In addition, about 840,000 workers are receiving extended federal benefits - available to workers who have exhausted their state benefits- usually after 26 weeks.

The federal program is set to expire at the end of the year.

Economists say the bulk of the evidence points to a stabilisation in lay-offs, but no significant increase in hiring yet.