The number of people applying for federal unemployment benefits dropped to 370,000 last week, a decrease of 25,000 applications from the previous week, the Associated Press reported.
Analysts expected the unemployment rate to remain 7.9%, according to the AP. The amount of unemployment applications reflects modest, but steady, creation of new jobs in the economy, according to the Labor Department. Economists said that an overall total of 110,000 jobs were added in November.
Although new jobs had become more steadily available in recent months, Hurricane Sandy—which forced many workplaces to shut down—combined with Washington’s ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations had a depressive effect on job growth in November, according to reports.
Approximately 5 million people remain on unemployment.
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