By Laura Conaway
Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday numbers parade.
New claims for unemployment benefits have fallen to the lowest level since January, the Department of Labor reports. In the week ending Oct. 3, some 521,000 people said they'd lost their work, down 33,000 from the week before.
The four-week moving average fell by 9,000 to 539,750. As of Sept. 26, the number of people on regular unemployment insurance fell 72,000 to 6,040,000. The rolls rose again for Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which kicks in when regular benefits run out in states with high joblessness. As of Sept. 19, to 3,321,210 -- an increase of 45,997.
The central story line continues: Fewer people are losing their jobs, and the ones who do are struggling to find new ones.
In other news, the health care bill backed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) would lower the federal deficit by $81 billion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office predicts.
The federal deficit hit a record $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, with much of the spending going to rescue the economy.
The failure of the New Frontier Bank in Greeley, Colo., has the federal government paying to feed and milk cows. Seriously.
categories: Employment, Morning Report
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