The latest government report indicated that the number of newly laid-off workers fell last week and this is a good indicator that the job market is improving. Economists claim that the job losses are likely to slow down in the coming months.
“We believe the lower claims figures are an important economic development and confirmation that the economy is turning the corner,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note to clients.
Still, the number of people continuing to claim benefits rose by 69,000 to 6.3 million, after having dropped for three straight weeks — evidence that job openings remain scarce and the unemployed are having difficulty finding new work. The figures for continuing jobless claims lag behind those for initial claims by a week.
Stocks fell slightly prior to the release of the new job data. The sustained stocks rally over the past months has been considered as one of the strong indicators that the economy is on the uptake but without any clear indication that unemployment has bottomed out, analysts say that the recovery will still be a long way to go.
Source: MSNBC
