Numbers of weekly aid applications for Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week.
The Labor Department reported a 42,000 drop to 364,000 cases, suggesting the worrisome March increase may be leveling out.
Only 88,000 jobs were added in March, in contrast to the 220,000 average of the previous four months. The Labor Department attributed the surge of unemployment applications last month and its seasonal volatility to Easter holiday and school spring breaks. Last month's unemployment rate, which was at a four-year low of 7.6 percent, may have fallen because fewer people searched for jobs and therefore were not registered as unemployed.
"It's heartening that these numbers have come down," chief IHS Inc. economist Nariman Behravesh told The San Francisco Chronicle. "The weakness may have been overstated. This is an early piece of evidence that we'll see a bounce back in the April employment numbers."
Rising stocks are reported in every industry but tech.
"It's not a good day for technology stocks, but overall, we are in a strong market," senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research Joe Bell told The New York Times.
According to the Guardian, pervasive government spending cuts that began on March 1 and will take a half percentage point from overall growth this year.
Despite decreases in unemployment applications, low layoff counts only address part of the issue. Businesses need confidence in the economic outlook before they are likely to initiate job growth.
