- First-time unemployment claims sink to early-recession levels, By Don Lee, February 10, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “In another sign that the job market is gaining momentum, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits fell further last week – down to levels last seen in the early months of the recession. The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time jobless claims dropped by 15,000 to 358,000 last week, although week-to-week changes can be volatile. The average for the last four weeks, a more reliable measure, dropped to 366,000 – the lowest four-week average since April 2008…”
- Unemployment, economic picture revised, more positive, By Richard Wolf, February 9, 2012, USA Today: “A persistent drumbeat of unexpectedly positive job-market developments is leading to revised economic forecasts from Wall Street to the White House. A drop in the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits to 2008 levels, reported Thursday, was just the latest evidence of a private-sector employment revival. It followed a three-month decline in the unemployment rate from 8.9% to 8.3%…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty