First-time jobless claims fall faster than expected


First-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hitting the lowest level we've seen since January. The U.S. Department of Labor pegged the number at 521,000. This is down from the previous week's 554,000 (which had been revised upward). Wall Street economists anticipated 540,000. Claims of this type have fallen four times in five weeks, and the four-week average reached 539,750 – its lowest level since January 17, 2009.

In general, first-time claims for unemployment benefits have been declining since the spring, though slowly. Unfortunately, they still remain well above the 325,000 that economists claim to be indicative of a healthy economy.


The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell 72,000 to 6.04 million. The number might be lower if Congress had not added up to 53 weeks of unemployment benefit to the original 26 weeks that states provide. The addition of another 13 weeks is being considered.

The jobless rate and number of people collecting unemployment benefits are tempting stats to which to assign recovery hopes... but that probably isn't a good idea. We're likely to see a jobless recovery from this recession (with hefty doses of temp and contract work), which means a change in the job market will only confirm already good news.

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