WASHINGTON -- The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state jobless benefits continued to plunge dramatically last week, but the drop in the filings still doesn't necessarily mean job prospects are improving.
Initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 47,000 to 522,000 in the week ended July 11, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, fell by 22,500 to 584,500, the lowest level since January 31 of this year.
The tally of continuing claims -- those drawn by workers for more than one week -- fell by a record 642,000 during the week ended July 4 to 6,273,000, the lowest figure since April 11. The weekly decline almost doubled the previous record in 1983.
The data released on Thursday represented a second straight week of very steep declines in the filing of new claims.
The previous week's drop, which included data from the July 4th holiday, occurred after anticipated lay-offs in the automobile industry failed to materialize as predicted. Additionally, the weekly jobless claim figures also tend to be quite volatile this time of year as government statisticians try to predict the timing of manufacturing lay-offs.
For those reasons, a Labor Department analyst warned that the latest drops should not be interpreted as a sign that the outlook in the job market is improving.
*does this mean that they know something we don't? Obama was also saying earlier in the week that unemployment will likely continue to rise into next year. So while the news is positive, it means NOT REALLY...
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