CREATIVE DISTRUCTION

Jobless Claims Fall to Nearly 3-Year Low (Reuters, 12/31/03)

New applications for state jobless benefits hit the lowest level in nearly three years last week, the government said on Wednesday, boosting hopes that employment is finally beginning to show sustained growth.

The Labor Department said 339,000 idled workers filed for unemployment insurance at state offices throughout the country in the week ended Dec. 27, down from a revised 354,000 a week earlier.

The level of new claims was the lowest since President Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2001.

The next time someone claims that the sky is falling because some major employer has announced massive layoffs of 5000, or 10,000, or 20,000 workers over the next year, remember that a week in which only 340,000 people lost their jobs is a very good week.

Posted by David Cohen at December 31, 2003 3:45 PM