The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 12,000 last week, to 502,000, the Employment and Training Administration just announced.

According to the Associated Press, the decline was "more than expected" and may be "evidence the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers." It's also "the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3."

Another interesting bit of data: "The 4-week moving average" of the number of people collecting benefits was 5,790,750, a decrease of 100,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,891,500.

Planet Money follows all things economic.