by Caitlin Kenney

New claims for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 last week to 545,000, according to the Department of Labor.
A department analyst says the Labor Day holiday may have influenced the larger than expected drop.

The four-week average, dropped to 563,000, but that number is still far above the 325,00 per week that economists consider healthy.

Meantime, the Commerce Department says housing starts rose in August by 1.5 percent. The number is nearly 30 percent below the August 2008 rate, but it's the highest level since November.

The number of building permits also increased 2.7 percent last month.