The soft economy is far from over, but this is another good sign. This news also presents problems for the GOP who have been talking about damaging Obama has been. Meanwhile, we can look overseas at the countries who have forced austerity, such as the UK. They're heading in the opposite direction, which is precisely where the GOP wants to take the US. Bloomberg:
Applications for unemployment insurance decreased 2,000 in the week ended Feb. 25 to 351,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 355,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls fell, while those getting extended payments also declined. Firing is on a downward trend as employers gain confidence in the outlook for economic growth. A smaller number of job reductions also puts those companies in place to hire additional employees as demand picks up. “Firing is not holding back the labor market,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who forecast 350,000 claims. “Businesses recognize that they don’t need to lay off any more people. Down the road, they’re going to realize they need to hire more people.”Looking forward though, unemployment remains high and manufacturing has some issues.
