Unemployment | featured news

Mark Simmons began dialing Rhode Island's unemployment call center at 8 a.m. on a recent Monday. He got a busy signal. He tried 67 more times before the automated system picked up and told him that because of heavy call volume, he should try back another time....

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level in five years, evidence that employers are cutting fewer jobs and may step up hiring.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted to a five-year low last week, a hopeful sign the job market may be improving.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines. But the number of people seeking aid is consistent with a job market that continues to grow modestly. Unemployment claims rose the week of Dec. 15 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000 from a revised 344,000 the week before. The less-volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, lowest since late October. Applications had surged in early November after Superstorm Sandy, then dropped back. (MORE: Weekly U.S.

Across the country, tens of thousands of unemployed young people, many with college credits or work histories, are struggling to house themselves in the wake of the recession.

The central bank said Wednesday that it would maintain short-term interest rates near zero, even after it stops buying bonds, for as long as the unemployment rate stayed above 6.5 percent.

The U.S. economy added a solid 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. The government said Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures.

An increase in hiring helped lower unemployment rates in 37 U.S. states last month, the latest indication that the job market is slowly healing.

The chances after multiple job losses may be on par with the risks people face from smoking, hypertension and diabetes.

Inflation has been running under 2 percent, yet an NBC News exit poll shows that 37% of voters say rising prices are their biggest problem, only slightly less than unemployment.