The number of new jobless claims dropped by 21,000 in the weekly report released yesterday, providing some hope that the employment figures may finally be turning the corner. The number of people filing new unemployment claims - 434,000 - was the lowest it's been since July. The four-week moving average, which is supposed to smooth out any hiccups in the figures, is also at the lowest rate it's been since July.
Except for that blip in July, new jobless claims were at their lowest since August 2008, or just a few months into the recession. The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment benefits is at 4.36 million; that's the lowest that figure has been since November 2008. Of course, some of the drop in that figure is the result of people using up all their unemployment benefits.
The Labor Department's official unemployment report for the month of October will be out next Friday. At that point, we'll have a better idea of whether this was just a blip, or a genuine cause for optimism.
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