unemployment benefits
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined last week, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The release explained that the number of residents seeking these benefits dropped by 21,000 to a total of 283,000. The four-week average amounted to 289,750, demonstrating a decline of 6,500 and bringing the figure to its lowest rate in 15 weeks. Areas that saw the biggest decline in unemployment claims included Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Indiana and Puerto Rico.??
The Associated Press reported that these drops come as the country experiences positive job growth. Over 3 million positions were made in the U.S. during 2014, causing the nation’s unemployment rate to drop by nearly 1 percent. The number of available job postings grew in the last quarter of the year to its highest rate in 14 years, the source noted. Businesses created over 1 million jobs between November 2014 and January 2015, the strongest growth in a three-month span of time the country has seen in 17 years.
Wages have also started to increase across the country, a good sign for the labor situation and overall economic activity.??
“All in, this is an encouraging sign for February payrolls,” stated??Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, to The Associated Press.??