By the Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The number of people requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn’t prompting widespread job cuts.

New claims for unemployment aid fell last week by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had expected a slight increase, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure, fell by 2,500 to 485,500, its first decrease after four straight increases.

Even with the declines, claims are still at much higher levels than they would be in a healthy economy. When economic output is growing rapidly and employers are hiring, claims generally drop below 400,000.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said productivity fell in the spring by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs rose.

That indicates companies may have reached the limits of their ability to squeeze more work out of their reduced work forces.

Productivity, or the amount of output per hour of work, dropped at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the April-to-June quarter, double the 0.9 percent decline initially reported a month ago.

Also, the nation’s retailers reported surprisingly solid gains for August. Aggressive discounting helped during an unusually hot summer when consumers worried about jobs and a weakening economy.

Requests for jobless benefits haven’t improved much this year. New claims stood at 470,000 during the week of Jan. 9, almost the same as last week’s figure. The four-week average was about 20,000 lower in January. Continued...

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Economists closely watch initial claims for real-time information on the job market. They are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and a measure of companies’ willingness to hire.

Hiring has slowed to a crawl in recent months. The number of people continuing to claim benefits fell by 23,000 to 4.46 million, the lowest since late June.

But that doesn’t include millions of people who are receiving extended benefits under emergency programs enacted by Congress during the recession. More than 5.4 million people were on the extended benefit rolls during the week of Aug. 14, the latest data available. That’s a drop of about 320,000 from the previous week.

Without more jobs, consumers will likely spend cautiously, making it harder for the economy to gain steam. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.

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