Unemployment claims take plunge

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment plunged last week by the largest amount in eight months, but it might have been a statistical fluke.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 302,000 people filed for benefits last week, down 35,000 from the previous week. Analysts had expected decline of about 6,000.

It was the biggest one-week improvement since jobless claims fell by 65,000 during the week ending Sept. 24. During that period, claims figures were buffeted by massive layoffs from the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Analysts cautioned against reading too much into last week’s improvement. They noted it occurred during a holiday-shortened week when residents of many states would have had one fewer day to file their applications for benefits.

Many analysts are forecasting that the jobless claims numbers will begin rising on a sustained basis in coming months, signaling a slowing economy.

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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Women for the first time have a vaccine to protect themselves against cervical cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday licensed the vaccine, Gardasil, for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. The vaccine works by preventing infection by four of the dozens of strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease.

By age 50, some 80 percent of women have been infected.

Gardasil protects against the two types of HPV responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.

The vaccine also blocks infection by two other strains responsible for 90 percent of genital wart cases. The vaccine will be available by the end of the month, with a three-shot series costing $360.

Its manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., seeks similar approval elsewhere around the world. Each year, cervical cancer kills an estimated 240,000 women worldwide, including 3,700 in the United States.