Remember: the magic number is 400,000
Reuters is reporting:
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering hope that the sluggish labor market recovery may have picked up a step.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 360,000."Politically" this is a great report but I believe the rate of recovery will still be six years or more before we get back to pre-recession employment levels. Or something like that. But every little bit helps.
Other data points:
- four-week moving aveerage: 352,000 (rose 1,500)
- still receiving benefits: 3.11 million; 130,000 less than previous report
- still receiving benefits: lowest level since July, 2008; could reflect people exhausting their benefits.
Thursday's report showed that continuing claims for unemployment benefits stood at 3.1 million in the week ended Feb. 2. That is lowest since July 2008, before the worst of the recession hit and the job market began to tumble.A lot of folks should be coming back into the job market.
