Note the suggestions growth will exceed 4% for the last quarter of this year and unemployment will be down to 5.7% by the 2004 election.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24816-2003Aug21.htmlThe number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in six months, another indication that the battered U.S. economy may be recovering from an extended period of weakness.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that 386,000 newly laid-off workers filed claims for jobless benefits last week, down by 17,000 from the previous week.
It was the smallest number of laid off workers filing for claims since the week ending Feb. 8, when the total was 378,000 and represented the fourth week out of the past five in which claims were below 400,000. Economists see weekly claims numbers below 400,000 as signaling an improving job market.
Labor Department analysts said that last week's massive power blackout had only a minimal impact on the claims figures. While one state reported that its claims would probably have been 2,000 to 3,000 higher if its offices had been open for the whole week, the bulk of the improvement in the claims figures came from outside the areas affected by the blackouts.
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