NFIB

New Unemployment Insurance Claims Drop
08/08/2002

A sign that the job market could be stabilizing appeared in the Labor Department's report today that new unemployment insurance claims have dropped by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 to 376,000.

According to the AP, however, economists predict that while many companies are starting to slow layoffs, they won't be hiring new workers for a while. Though the economic recovery got off to a strong start at the beginning of the year, a number of recent reports indicate setbacks, so employers may be wary.

Last month's Small Business Economic Trends report stated that small businesses started seriously reducing labor in March 2001, and since then have reported workforce reductions 14 out of 16 months.