Unemployment claims drop sharply to 407K

[bushisanidiot]

Thank you, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi! We are on the right track to recover from AWOL Bush's recession. Hopefully, the republicons won't continue to put party over country and end economic progress via gridlock!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101124/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_jobless_claims

"WASHINGTON – The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level since July 2008, a hopeful sign that improvement in the job market is accelerating.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that weekly unemployment claims dropped by 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 407,000 in the week ending Nov. 20. Wall Street analysts expected a much smaller drop.

A Labor Department analyst said the claims figures are volatile during the week between the Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving holidays. A key question is whether claims will remain this low in future weeks, or bounce back.

Still, applications for jobless aid are steadily moving lower. Claims have fallen in four of the past six weeks.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped for the third straight week to 436,000, the lowest since August 2008. That's a month before the financial crisis intensified with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, worsening the recession.

"Although weekly claims readings can be volatile, the downward trend over the past three months is too significant to be ignored," Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities, said.

The stock market responded positively to the jobless claims report and other economic data. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped by 130 points in morning trading, while broader indexes also rose.
"

[madfloridian]

1. Does that include the ones who are dropped off the rolls, no longer eligible?

The media often forgets them...the forgotten ones who no longer qualify for benefits since it's been so long.

[davekriss]

2. These are new first time claims

Overall underemployment (unemployed and looking + part time worker looking for full time work + can't find work and stopped looking) is still around 17% of the workforce.

[taught_me_patience]

3. This is good news

the four week rolling has also steadily dropped. I'm suspicious that this week is off a bit due to seasonal adjustments.

[taught_me_patience]

4. We are clearly out of the recession

Employment finally seems to be on the rise.