Unemployment Claims Drop Again Over Last Week
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – The number of people asking for unemployment benefits last week dropped to the lowest level since March 2008, according to the Labor Department.
The government said weekly applications dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 for the week ending December 22. Over the last four weeks, the average fell to a nearly five-year low of 356,750.
Weekly applications for unemployment have fluctuated between 360,000 and 390,000 all year. At the same time, private employers have added an average of 151,000 jobs a month through November, which is just enough to slowly drop the unemployment rate.
Still, the biggest problem the numbers don't address is whether the new jobs being created are equivalent with the ones that were lost or if the new jobs are part-time or much lowering paying jobs than before.
Experts believe the economy added roughly 150,000 jobs in December. Still, the unemployment rate remains at 7.7 percent and the looming austerity crisis could completely undercut any job momentum that was building over the last year.
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