
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994                   TAG: 9403250157
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: associated press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

JOBLESS CLAIMS TAKE A SLIDE

Fewer claims in California and in construction and service industries helped push down by 5,000 the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, the government reported Thursday.

The Labor Department said a seasonally adjusted 340,000 people filed initial claims at state unemployment offices during the week ended March 19. That was down from a revised 345,000 the previous week.

The Labor Department said its four-week moving average of jobless claims fellto a seasonally adjusted 337,250, a decline of 8,750 from the previous week and the lowest level since Jan. 8. That number is more closely tracked by economistsbecause it smooths out the fluctuations in the weekly number.

by CNB