Department of Labor: Sorry, The Economy Still Sucks

First-time jobless claims were expected to drop to 521,000 last week but instead only fell to 530,000, even as the economy continues to recover.

The Commerce Department found that the economy grew at 3.5 percent from July through September, though that’s not enough to spur hiring.

“Still,” reports the AP, “the four-week average of claims, which smooths out volatility, fell for the eighth straight week to 526,250, its lowest level since early January. Claims are slowly declining as companies lay off fewer workers.”

We’d like to hear what’s going on at your companies, if you’re one of the lucky ones reading here who are still employed.