U.S. jobs picture improving, manufacturing may be slowing

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, offering signs of a steady improvement in the labor market. While the jobs picture is brightening a bit, factory activity appears to be losing momentum, with business spending on capital goods weakening and new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods falling last month. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 1.2 percent in October.