Some Good News From Jobless Claims

Weekly jobless claims last week fell by 43,000 to 440,000, which was enough to lower the four-week average by 1,000. And those on long-term extended unemployment benefits the week ended Jan. 23 fell to 5,447,592, a decrease of 184,627. But at the same time, that 5.4 million represents a threefold increase over the 1.8 million long-term claims filed in the same week last year, just as the recession was beginning to let us know that it wouldn’t go quietly.