Unemployment Benefits | featured news

The outlook for the job market is looking brighter. Far fewer people are seeking unemployment benefits than just three months ago - a sign that layoffs are falling sharply.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are locked in an end-of-year fight that threatens a government shutdown, an effective tax hike for 160 million Americans and the loss of benefits for millions of unemployed.

The proposal would pay for extending a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits in part through changes to Medicare and a pay freeze for federal workers.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nine months, evidence that the job market is improving.

Republican officials say legislation being drafted in the House would renew an expiring program of unemployment benefits at a time of 9 percent joblessness. The measure also would extend a Social Security payroll tax cut. Both are due to expire at the end of the year. The officials say the cost of provisions will be offset to avoid increasing the deficit.

New claims for unemployment insurance dropped to their lowest level in seven months, government data showed on Thursday, raising hopes that hiring may be picking up. The Labor Department said seasonally adjusted initial claims dropped 5,000 to 388,000, versus the previous week's revised 393,000 figure. The 4-week moving average, widely considered a more accurate measure of labor market trends, was 396,750, a drop of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 400,750.

The outlook for American jobs and trade looked a little brighter Thursday, despite growing uncertainty overseas. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 390,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest since April.

The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits....

Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a hopeful sign that the job market might be picking up.

New claims for unemployment benefits edged down last week, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to a modest improvement in the labor market at the start of the fourth quarter.