Unemployment claims fall in new sign of gradual labor recovery

[dangolegators]

Every little bit of good news is a good thing. Jobless claims have been consistently lower for the last number of weeks. And the amount of people on unemployment is at its lowest since 2008.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to 341,000 in the week ended Feb. 9, from a revised 368,000 the prior week.

...

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.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...0,207052.story

[mastoidbone]

try again---the more reliable 4 week moving average rose by a hair---so the news was very little and it was for the worse.

The 4 week average of 352,500 shows we us employment is tepid---and terrible for a recovery...meaning seems like obama new normal is the new normal.

[PIMking]

how many of these less claims were people who ran out of unemployment and stopped looking?

[g8orbill]

until we have a real number and not some cooked up number there is no real recovery

[JerseyGator01]

This is the fifth recovery since election season started. I'm impressed.

[Swampmaster]

The recession must be over!! Yes!!!!

[dangolegators]

Yeah, I know everything is really, really bad. But I was hoping to bring a glimmer of hope to our miserable existences. I failed.

[LittleBlueLW]

Originally Posted by dangolegators

Yeah, I know everything is really, really bad. But I was hoping to bring a glimmer of hope to our miserable existences. I failed.

I am as busy as a semi retired 42 yr old can be and my company had a record year in 2012.

We hired 5 more people last year averaging 60k+ in salary and benes in central fla.

But I dont give our president one ounce of credit for that.

[exiledgator]

Originally Posted by g8orbill

until we have a real number and not some cooked up number there is no real recovery

So if we can't know for certain then things are certainly bad. Got it.

[JerseyGator01]

My area had a 20% office vacancy rate BEFORE the so-called recession hit. It's all media hype and government deception. As long as the liberal lawyers maintain multiple chins, all is good.

[surfn1080]

Originally Posted by JerseyGator01

This is the fifth recovery since election season started. I'm impressed.

Wait once per 4 weeks the number is below 350k impresses you??? I guess this is the new normal for people. We cant even keep up with population growth!

[JerseyGator01]

Sarcasm on my part if you missed it.

[The_Graygator]

Originally Posted by g8orbill

until we have a real number and not some cooked up number there is no real recovery

Agreed. So far, we've lost about 8 million jobs from the labor force under Obama.

This "recovery" BS is just that... BS.

[northgagator]

Originally Posted by PIMking

how many of these less claims were people who ran out of unemployment and stopped looking?

The average time Americans spent unemployed dropped a record 2.8 weeks in January ... but hold the applause.

The reason is likely because many people ran out of unemployment benefits so they stopped looking for work, experts said.

"People are getting frustrated and are giving up," said Adam Hersh, economist with the Center for American Progress.

The average duration of unemployment was 35.3 weeks in January, down from 38.1 weeks in December and 40.2 weeks a year earlier, according to the latest monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The cause of the big drop likely stems from the fact that federal extended jobless benefits were curtailed in several states in January because their unemployment rates improved, said Claire McKenna, policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project. To receive unemployment checks, the jobless must look for work, which keeps them in the labor force. And since there was no notable uptick in employment, it's not likely that the majority of them got jobs

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/04/news...eks/index.html

[dangolegators]

Good news: This week's number is 344,000. New jobless claims have been consistently lower over the past couple of months. And the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits is at its lowest since June 2008. We'll see how the sequester affects all of this, but for now, things are getting better.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new...MW_latest_news

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits dropped 22,000 to 344,000 in the week ended Feb. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. Even as large federal spending cuts are set to kick in soon through sequestration, the data signal continuing improvement in the labor market, though claims levels could jump going forward as workers are cut. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an initial-claims level of 362,000 for the most recent weekly data. The government revised claims for the week ended Feb. 16 to 366,000 from a prior estimate of 362,000. The average of new claims over the past month, which smoothes out weekly volatility, fell 6,750 to 355,000. The government also reported that continuing claims dropped 91,000 to 3.07 million in the week ended Feb. 16, hitting the lowest level since June 2008. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 35,500 to 3.16 million, the lowest level since July 2008. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

[mastoidbone]

4 wk average is still over 350,000---which is NOT a good number or a number associated with a recovery.

What it is is the new Obama normal---low Econ activity, high unemployment, high deficits....did I leave anything out?

Only thing really cooking now is housing and tech and energy---none of which he has done much to create.

[gatordowneast]

We shall see the February "cooked" job #s next week. And then we will have to wait two more months for the revisions.

[gatorman_07732]

I'm sorry but there is no good news in terms of this economy improving. The unemployment number is not even close to the actual number with all the people that have went from unemployment to disability. There is just no growth at all.

[PSGator66]

I would imagine that as the full monty of Obamacare kicks in it will have a huge negative effect on the economy.

[gator421]

Originally Posted by PSGator66

I would imagine that as the full monty of Obamacare kicks in it will have a huge negative effect on the economy.

We can only remain hopeful.