WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in almost seven years, perhaps a sign the U.S. labor market is experiencing a spring revival.
Initial jobless claims sank by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 300,000 in the seven days ended April 5, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the lowest level since May 2007, six months before the Great Recession began and a steeper drop than economists had expected.
Initial claims are now almost 14% lower compared to one year ago and they are down 21% compared to the same week two years earlier.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to total 320,000. The level of claims in the last week of March was revised up to 332,000 from 326,000.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-fall-to-nearly-seven-year-low-2014-04-10-81035619
