The news we get on jobs comes from several different ways of measuring employment. The headline unemployment figure, which dropped to 7.5 percent last week, comes from a monthly household survey. The number of new jobs added to the economy each month derives from the so-called establishment survey, which asks businesses about their hiring.
Then there's the number of new jobless claims, which unlike those other two, comes out weekly rather than monthly. This one isn't a survey but simply the count of new applications for unemployment insurance. And this week's number was outstanding: 323,000 new applicants, which is down 4,000 from last week and is the lowest that number has been since January 2008.
The longer-term picture looks even better. The four-week average for new jobless claims is down to 336,750, which is the lowest that figure has been since November 2007 - before the recession had even started.
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