WASHINGTON, Nov 6: New American jobless numbers plummeted to a near three-year low last week, data showed on Thursday, as the speeding economy finally began to produce longed-for employment.

New claimant numbers unexpectedly plunged 43,000 to 348,000 in the week ending November 1, the lowest since the week George W. Bush was inaugurated president on January 20, 2001, the Labour Department said.

A four-week average of new claims dropped 10,000 to 380,000, the lowest since March 10, 2001.

Employers finally were opening the door to new hires after squeezing the last drop out of existing workforces, analysts said.

Businesses fired up productivity — output per hour — to an 18-month record pace of 8.1 per cent in the third quarter, when the economy was roaring ahead at a 19-year record pace of 7.2 per cent, data showed.

“Productivity gains are coming from the sizzling economy we had in the third quarter,” said Wells Fargo Banks chief economist Sung Won Sohn.

But those gains meant businesses had no motive to hire new workers, resulting in the so-called jobless recovery that persisted in the third quarter, he said.

“In the fourth quarter, we are beginning to see not only the improving economy but also lower jobless claims, indicating that hopefully we are going to see some jobs created in the coming months,” he said.

“The economy is continuing to grow.”

Third quarter productivity, critical because it determines the maximum speed of the economy, was up from a robust 7.0-per cent expansion in the second quarter, the Labour Department figures showed.

Output jumped 8.8 per cent, the steepest increase since 1992 while the number of hours worked edged up 0.7 per cent.

—AFP