MNI BRIEF: US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall To 779,000

U.S. claims for first-time unemployment insurance slipped by 33,000 in the week ended Jan. 30 to 779,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, announcing a better-than-expected reading as U.S. Treasury yields edged higher.

The prior week's reading was also revised down by 35,000 to 812,000 and continuing claims dropped 193,000 to 4,592,000 in the week ending Jan 23. The data came amid increasing Fed talk of a second half rebound, though St Louis Fed President James Bullard said yesterday it was too early to discuss tapering of QE.

As of mid-Jan., there were still 7,217,713 individuals filing continued weekly claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 3,603,098 receiving continued claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.