Some good news...in the news

Just going through the news and came across this article.  Since I have been hired at Elastic I feel like I am out of the fire. But, seeing articles like this one make me feel even better about the job situation though I still think it is pretty bad.

As always I am hopeful that the economy will turn around a bit more and the jobless rate will continue to decline.

3rd straight decline puts jobless claims at April 2008 levels
Dow Jones Newswires
7:32 AM CST, December 22, 2011

New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, reaching the lowest level since April 2008 and providing another sign of improvement for the weak labor market.

Initial jobless claims declined by 4,000, to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, in the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast claims would rise by 14,000, to 380,000.

The decline carried claims to the lowest since the week ending April 19, 2008, and marked the third drop in a row. For the week ended Dec. 10, claims were revised slightly up to 368,000 from an originally reported 366,000.

Weekly figures are volatile, particularly during the holidays, and economists prefer to look at the four-week moving average of new jobless claims. Last week, it dropped by 8,000 to 380,250.

The four-week average has remained below 400,000 for six consecutive weeks, a sign the economy is adding more jobs than it is shedding. Private employers continued hiring in November, according to the Labor Department's monthly employment report. The report, a critical look at the U.S. labor market's strength, also showed the jobless rate fell to its lowest since March 2009.

That said, the Federal Reserve is forecasting an unemployment rate ranging from 8.5 to 8.7 percent in 2012, with economic growth picking up yet remaining modest. Headwinds continue to sweep over the long recovery from the recession and the housing market bust. Stock market prices have fallen amid Europe's debt crisis and home values are down, making people feel less wealthy. Efforts in the U.S. to reduce the government budget deficit carry the risk of higher taxes. Consumers and their spending habits are a big driver of the economy.

The Labor report Thursday showed the number of continuing unemployment benefit claims--those drawn by workers for more than a week--decreased by 79,000 to 3,546,000 in the week ended Dec. 10. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance for the week ending Dec. 10 was 2.8 percent, down from 2.9 percent in the prior week.

The state-by-state breakdown in initial jobless claims is also released with a one-week lag. It showed California with the biggest drop in new claims - 15,583. The biggest increase came in New Jersey, where claims rose by 3,068.

A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual about the latest state-level claims data.