Initial jobless claims fall slightly

The amount of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time fell slightly in the second week of October, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Initial claims for benefits slid to 403,000, a drop of 6,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised upward Thursday to 409,000.

However, the number is still stuck above the key 400,000 level. Economists believe jobless claims must come in below that number to indicate strong job growth.

The four-week moving average, which aims to paint a more accurate picture of the jobless situation by ironing out week-to-week volatility, also fell to 403,000, a 6,250-point drop from the prior week's number.

Jobs have been at the forefront of a public fight pitting the Obama administration and Democrats against congressional Republicans as both sides argue they have the right approach to creating job. The president spent the first part of this week touring Virginia and North Carolina, taking the case for his $447 billion jobs plan to the public and criticizing the GOP for refusing to pass it. That plan would extend unemployment benefits through 2012. Under current law, extended benefits are slated to expire in February.

Meanwhile, the Senate is looking to dice up the president's plan and consider it in smaller chunks, after it failed to pass the package wholesale earlier in the month. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has filed for cloture for a vote on a $35 billion piece providing funds to teachers and first responders, paid for by a 0.5 percent tax increase on those making over $1 million a year in income.

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