U.S. first-time jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since July last week – a sign that the economy may be improving. Data from the Labor Department shows that applications fell to 550,000 in the week ended Sept. 5 from 576,000 the week before.
Other data from the Labor Department showed that continuing claims dropped by 159,000 to 6.09 million, which is its lowest level since April. In general, some economists believe that this is a sign that employment may be starting to stabilize after 20 straight months of job losses.
Is the Economy Improving?
Economists seem to want to make it clear that improvements in the numbers we see for first-time jobless claims and continuing claims don’t necessarily mean that all is well. Other factors play a role in these numbers, including the fact that there are still unemployed workers who have run out of benefits and can no longer make continuing claims.
The Reality Behind the U.S. Economy
The fact is, jobless claims are still unbelievably high, and add to the 6.9 million jobs lost since the start of the recession in December 2007 – the worst since the Great Depression. And since companies like General Motors(who is preparing to cut 1,000 salaried jobs this month) are still letting their workers go while others simply aren’t hiring, it appears that economists are right–the return to job growth is likely still many months away.
So what do you think? Does seeing a drop in numbers make you feel that the economy is turning around for the better? Or is it just that a really bad economy slowly turning into a kind of bad one?
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