Unemployment Benefits, Jobless | featured news

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply for the second straight week, suggesting the job market is slowly recovering.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, with applications hitting the lowest level in two and a half years.

Senior lawmakers said on Sunday they were optimistic about striking a deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers and continue emergency jobless aid for millions of long-term unemployed Americans.

Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay.

The state is borrowing $40 million a day from the federal government to provide assistance to jobless workers, but has resisted changing the formulas it uses to determine and fund those benefits.California's fund for paying unemployment insurance is broke.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a three-month low, hinting at some improvement in the listless labor market.

Employers appear to be laying off workers again as the economic recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November.

Congress is one House vote away from resuming unemployment payments to millions of people whose benefits have lapsed as the nation suffers through a wretched job market.

New U.S. claims for jobless benefits climbed more steeply than anticipated last week, according to a Labor Department report on Thursday that further underlined the drag on economic activity from persistently weak job markets.

The Senate voted on Wednesday to reinstate unemployment benefits for about 2.5 million Americans whose checks were cut off in recent months due to a partisan standoff over deficit spending.