Jobless claims fall to lowest level in 4 weeks

[NJmaverick]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped for a second consecutive week, further evidence that the job market is slowly improving.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits dropped by 11,000 to 448,000, the lowest level in four weeks. The new total was slightly higher than economists had expected.
The four-week average for claims edged up slightly to 462,500, still above the level that economists believe signals sustained improvements in the job market.
Claims have been on a rollercoaster in recent weeks, posting sharp increases in the first two weeks of April and then falling for the past two weeks. Part of those swings reflected troubles that the government has in seasonally adjusting the figures around Easter which falls at different times each year.
However, economists said the uneven declines in claims also reflect the fact that the labor market is still struggling to emerge from the country's worst recession since the 1930s.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy;_ylt=Arsdo6Ea538o9pruqxF24fOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNhNzU2b2kwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDI5L3VzX2Vjb25vbXkEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwM4BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNqb2

[Kingofalldems]

1. Teabagger sympathizers will not like this one

K and R

[dmallind]

2. No doubt all of a sudden the 4 week average will be the one that really matters

When it was poo-pooed as smoke and mirrors when the average was lower than current week claims.

Of course the sad part about being consistent is that it generally IS the four week average that is more meaningful, so that means this week's numbers are in the blah to slightly pessimistic range. Still - any look at initial claims however organized only looks at one side of the puzzle and without knowing how many hired we'll not be able to know whether things are getting better or not.

I confess I have not looked lately - anybody seen any early predictions of April employment gains/losses yet?

[InkAddict]

3. Many times persons new to the system fail to file the first week as they need to

learn how things don't work...LOL

[DesertDiamond]

4. I wish this were a sign of recovery. It's actually a sign that some of us are now out in the cold

A few hundred thousand of us have exhausted Tier IV, and with no Tier V, we are the "lucky ones" who get to make this beautiful news happen. Claims are down because we don't get to make claims anymore. I haven't had a penny of income since March. I am fighting to make the rent. None of the bills are paid. And I can't drive down to LA where the temp work is because there's not enough gas in my car. So, sorry to say, this "great news" is at the expense of those of us apparently don't matter anymore.

[proudohioan]

6. Ouch! That's rough.....

I am so very sorry to hear that.

My personal feeling is that there are a whole lot of people who are jobless that aren't being counted. I have a couple of friends in Denver that have been unemployed for a couple of years, and finally doubled up with family/friends because there was no more income. And another friend of mine got fired a year ago, her employer challenged UI and won. None of those 3 that come to mind are counted in the unemployment rates, either, as far as I know.

Best of luck to you!

:hug:

[dmallind]

7. Inityial cliams have NOTHING to do with eligibility for benefits or their expiration

It's a measure of who filed new claims this week. Nothing else.

[happygoluckytoyou]

5. FOX HEADLINES---> ignore any signs of recovery, obama started this in 2005! film at 11

[TomCADem]

12. Odd How Good Economic News Is Rarely Mentioned In Reference To Democratic Policies...

...but bad economic news is always referred to in reference to Democratic party rule. Even on this Board, you have many "Democratics" acting like Freepers in response to any news of improvement in the economy. Soon, as the economy recovers, they will give credit to Bush or just insist that it would have improved anyways even if President Obama did nothing.

[No Elephants]

15. Really? Many DUers will give credit to Bush for any economic recovery?

:eyes:

[TheWatcher]

8. I Love You, Big Brother.

[superconnected]

9. Because eventually there will be so few employed that when they lose their jobs they can't

sustain the higher job-loss numbers per month, that we used to see.

[avaistheone1]

10. I am with you.

When good-paying full-time jobs with benefits are created in significant numbers then I will be a believer.

Problem is we are outsourcing jobs faster than we can create a stimulus of new jobs.

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Probably Census hiring

[sohndrsmith]

13. this records new claims only, right? I've read elsewhere that many

of those who are unemployed have reached the limit of their unemployment benefits...

maybe it's a meaningless coincidence. No matter what, unemployment is not just about numbers and I feel for any and all of those suffering. I know how bad it gets...

[No Elephants]

14. When the reports give the full picture, I will pay more attention to them.

Also, when they stop reporting what seems like good news, then issuing a revised report a few days later.

As others on this thread have already posted, the stats reflect only new claims for unemployment, not those already on uneemployment or those who have been unemployed so long that they don't show up on anyone's radar. As more and more people get laid off over a long period, the number of new claims is bound to go down. So, the number of new claims alone tells you very little.

And there are the census workers. Not only the census workers, but we are having warm weather seasonal hiring.

So, people have to look a little deeper before they either cheer a recovery or saying there is no recovery.

IMO, the real issue is where the future of this country is going to lie, if we are not going to manufacture very much and tech jobs are disappearing overseas, one way or another. The rest is sound and fury, signifying not a lot.