Jobless benefits rolls drop sharply to nearly 6.7 million

WASHINGTON (AP) — The total number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls dropped for the first time since early January, the government said today, while new claims for benefits rose slightly.

The report shows that job losses are easing after companies made deep cuts earlier this year. But nearly half of recipients at the end of last month had exhausted the 26 weeks of benefits provided under the regular state program without finding work, according to Labor Department data. That’s a record and compared with about 36 percent in December 2007, when the recession began.

“It is unlikely that new hiring has picked up in any meaningful fashion,” Joshua Shapiro, chief economist with MFR Inc., a consulting firm, wrote in a note to clients.

The department said the total unemployment insurance rolls fell by 148,000 to 6.69 million in the week ending June 6, the largest drop in more than seven years.