There was a 21,000-decrease last week in the number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance, the Employment and Training Administration just reported:

In the week ending Sept. 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 530,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 551,000. The 4-week moving average was 553,500, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised average of 564,500.

The Associated Press sums up the significance of that news with this:

The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, evidence that layoffs are continuing to ease.

Bloomberg News says it's "another sign firings are slowing as the economy pulls out of the recession."

The Wall Street Journal, though, says that the news "still leaves claims at a fairly high level, reinforcing the view shared by most economists that the job market will take longer to heal."

For much more on the economy's ups and downs, see Planet Money.