Government data due out Thursday on the number of newly laid-off workers filing jobless benefit claims is expected to show little improvement from the previous week, as the labor market struggles through the sluggish economy.
The Labor Department's tally of new claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending Sep. 12 is expected to fall by 5,000 from the prior week to a seasonally-adjusted level of 440,000, according to a survey of Wall Street economists by Thomson/IFR.
The data is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am EDT.
The total number of people continuing to draw jobless benefits is expected to drop slightly to 3.5 million, from 3.53 million. Last week's figure was the highest level in five years.
The initial claims of 445,000 last week was higher than analysts expected and followed a report from the Labor Department earlier this month that the unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly to 6.1 percent in August, also the highest level in five years.
Employers cut payrolls by 84,000 in August, the eighth straight month of cuts, the report said. So far, 605,000 jobs have been eliminated this year, and some economists estimate that figure could grow to 1 million by year-end.
Economists consider initial claims above 400,000 a sign of recession. A year ago, claims stood at about 320,000.
Thursday's figures were compiled before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday, then later was purchased by Barclays PLC and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. agreed to be acquired by Bank of America Corp.
Those moves could put thousands of jobs at risk. Lehman has approximately 25,000 employees worldwide and Merrill Lynch has 60,000.
Several companies have announced layoffs in the past week. Hewlett-Packard Co. said Monday it plans to cut 24,600 jobs over the next three years, or 8 percent of its workforce.
Newspaper chain McClatchy Co. and software developer Corel Corp. have also announced layoffs in the past week.
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