July 24, 2003

Drop in US jobless claims boosts hopes for economy
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 2:21 PM -

From Reuters, via Boston.com:

The number of Americans lodging new jobless claims plunged unexpectedly last week to the lowest level since February, bolstering hopes the economy may have finally shed the cobwebs of the 2001 recession.

While the Labor Department on Wednesday cautioned against reading too much into the improvement, saying July is always a volatile month, economists seized on the surprising strength in the job market as evidence the economy is on the mend.

"I think this puts a stake in the heart of those that claim recession is still with us," John Lonski, chief economist at Moody's Investors Service in New York.

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