Obama: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of Him? Message Board

From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	4/5/2012 8:56:55 AM
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U.S. Unemployment Claims Fall By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time in the United States fell to a four-year low last week, as layoffs slowed and the job market strengthened, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 357,000, the government said. That is the fewest since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 361,750, also the lowest in four years. The average has fallen nearly 13 percent in the past six months. When first-time unemployment benefit applications drop consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. The decline coincides with the best three months of job growth in two years. On Friday, the government is expected to issue its March jobs report, which analysts forecast will show a fourth straight month of strong hiring.