Jobless claims drop, productivity revised higher

[NJmaverick]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – New claims for jobless benefits fell last week in a sign that layoffs may be easing as the economy slowly recovers.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 469,000. That nearly matches Wall Street analysts' estimates of 470,000.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100304/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy;_ylt=AnrDy1H6MbvLalGoyRz_to.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFldWVvb2lmBHBvcwM5OQRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX2J1c2luZXNzBHNsawNqb2JsZXNzY2xhaW0-

[unabelladonna]

1. shall we break out the champagne?

?

[No Elephants]

2. New claims for jobless benefits = people who just got laid off and are eligible to collect.

If there have been layoffs for a couple of years, maybe it stands to reason that the number of new claims would start decreasing.


The total number unemployed and underemployed right now would seem more significant, especially as compared with a few years ago, or with years of fullest employment.

Job growth is a hopeful sign, though.

But the real issue, IMO, is where jobs will come from in the future as more and more jobs go overseas or obsolete out of existence. It's a fundamental problem, way beyond this or that individual statistic.