Jobless Claims Fall & Crab Certification

Jobless Claims Fall & Crab Certification. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The 45-million dollar Oregon Dungeness crab industry is now certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, which substantiates what fishermen have believed all along. Nick Furman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

FURMAN:  The Oregon Dungeness crab fishery is a well managed, sustainably-harvested, environmentally-neutral fishery that just happens to also produce a wonderful gourmet product. I think this will prove out to create market opportunities that either weren't there or enhance some of those market opportunities.

Furman says the sustainable certification should help sell more Oregon Dungeness crab regionally, in other parts of the U.S., and in the export market

Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the second-lowest level this year, fresh evidence that companies are cutting fewer jobs. First-time claims for jobless aid fell by 17,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 421,000 in the week ending Dec. 4. The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure, dropped for the fifth straight week to 427,500. That's the lowest since August 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Claims have fallen steadily in the past two months.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

***GRANGE REPORT***

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.