Americans filing initial unemployment claims dropped to their lowest level of the year, according to an announcement from the treasury Thursday. This is among several signs this week indicating that we have begun rebounding from the recession.
A weekly report from the labor department shows 502,000 first-time unemployment insurance claims filed for the week of Nov. 1, down from 514,000 the previous week. This number came as a surprise even to economists who anticipated 510,000 new claims.
President Obama calls these new numbers “hopeful,” but cautions that employer’s reluctance to rehire will remain among the “great challenges” facing our economy. Still, initial jobless claims have been on the decline over the course of the past four weeks and government data has revealed that the US economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter for the first time in over four quarters.
In spite of this encouraging news, the unemployment rate remains at 10.2%, the highest level since 1983 and is predicted by economists to remain at an elevated level for some time. President Obama is making this crisis a priority saying, "We have an obligation to consider every additional responsible step that we can to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country," Obama said.
The President intends to hold a new job forum in December with the intention of joining chief executives, small business and labor groups together to devise methods of improving the job market. Until the effects of such efforts can be seen, the legislation will continue to extend jobless benefits nation-wide. The proposal calls for an additional 14-weeks of support with states suffering unemployment rates of in excess of 8.5% receiving a total of 20 weeks.
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