June 18 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans receiving claims for unemployment benefits dropped for the first time since January, adding to evidence the job market is starting to thaw.

The number of people collecting unemployment insurance plunged by 148,000 in the week to June 6, the most since November 2001, to 6.69 million, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Initial claims rose by 3,000 to 608,000 in the week ended June 13, in line with forecasts.

The average number of claims over the last four weeks fell to the lowest level in four months, an indication that the U.S. economy is stabilizing after the worst recession in half a century. Even so, companies are likely to be slow to hire new employees, sending unemployment rates higher, analysts said.

“The labor market remains weak but it’s starting to stabilize,” said Maxwell Clarke, chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal in New York. “An improvement in employment conditions and improvement in confidence go hand in hand with an improvement in consumer spending.”

Treasuries dropped to their lows of the day after the report, sending yields on benchmark 10-year notes up to 3.74 percent at 9:20 a.m. in New York from 3.69 percent late yesterday. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index rose 0.3 percent to 908.20.

Economists’ Forecasts

Economists forecast claims would rise to 604,000, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey, from a previously reported 601,000 a week earlier. Estimates ranged from 586,000 to 632,000.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 615,750, the lowest level since February, from 622,750.

The jobless rate among people eligible for benefits dropped to 5 percent in the week ended June 6, the first decrease since December, from 5.1 percent.

Last week’s data coincides with the week the Labor Department conducts its monthly payrolls survey.

Forty-five states and territories reported an increase in new claims for the week ended June 6, while eight had a decrease.

The government is scheduled to release its June payrolls report July 2.

The Federal Reserve said last week said the U.S. downturn may be slowing in almost half of its regions though a “weak” labor market persists.

‘Continued to Be Weak’

“Labor market conditions continued to be weak across the country, with wages generally remaining flat or falling,” the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey. Some employers were freezing or cutting wages or reducing workers’ benefits and hours, the report said.

Still, “several districts saw signs that job losses may be moderating,” and staffing firms “reported some modest signs of recovery,” the Fed said.

Fed policy makers are scheduled to meet again next week on the direction of monetary policy.

News Corp.’s MySpace social-networking unit fired almost 30 percent of its staff to save money in response to falling advertising sales and gains by larger rival Facebook Inc.

Bankruptcies at General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC may also inflate benefit rolls for weeks to come. Chrysler, which resumed production at one plant this week, may not open some facilities until late July.

Chrysler likely will reopen its plants on a staggered schedule and some will be open only a week or two before the company’s annual two-week shut down that begins July 13, said Dianna Gutierrez, a company spokeswoman. She declined to release the start-up dates for its individual plants.

To contact the reporter on this story: Courtney Schlisserman in Washington cschlisserma@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2009 09:22 EDT