jobless claims

The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked down last week after dropping sharply the previous week, evidence hiring could pick up this month.

U.S. stock futures are higher with the government reporting that weekly jobless claims edged downward last week, suggesting that employers may accelerate hiring this month.

Slightly more people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. But the overall initial jobless claims level stayed near last week's rate, which was the lowest in four years -- and low enough to suggest the job market is strengthening.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits plummeted last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008. The decline added to evidence that the job market is strengthening. Applications fell 50,000, the biggest drop in the seasonally adjusted figure in more than six years, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Employee concerns about layoffs have moved sharply higher according to a new survey by online jobs company Glassdoor. The percentage of those who are worried rose sharply to 22% in the second quarter - the highest since the third quarter of 2009.

For the nearly 14 million Americans who want to work and can't find jobs, unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline. But how much help that lifeline is varies widely from state to state. We crunched the numbers to see which states are the best -- and worst -- places to be unemployed.

Bad economic news across the board is weighing on Americans' mood this month. The consumer sentiment index fell to a 5-month low in March, thanks to increases in the U.S. trade deficit, higher jobless claims, and a more than 40-cent jump in the price of a gallon of gas.

Economists and commentators talk why initial jobless claims need to falling below the 400,000 level. But exactly why is that number significant for the U.S. economy and investors? Here's the lowdown, based on the past performance of jobless claims and economic growth.

The number of people requesting unemployment benefits last week plunged to a nearly three-year low, bolstering likelihood that companies will increase the pace of hiring this year. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department reported...

Fewer people requested unemployment benefits last week, pushing the average number of applications over the past four weeks to the lowest level in more than two and a half years. Applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the Labor...