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Unemployment claims drop to record low

Posted on May 7th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

The rise in jobs throughout April and an increase in HR administrations hiring new employees helped shrink the unemployment rate. According to the latest unemployment data, jobless claims dropped at the end of April to the lowest level in almost five years. 

The Department of Labor reports that the number of applications for unemployment insurance payments dropped by 18,000 to 324,000 during the last week of April. The four-week moving average is now at 342,250 claims, which is down from the previous average of 358,250. 

The steep decline in hiring during March had surprised economists, according to MarketWatch, but the creation of 165,000 jobs in April helped decrease the unemployment rate to 7.5 percent. 

The unemployment rate directly affects the country's economic stability, and the news source reports that the economy requires around 250,000 new jobs a month for a succession of months for the rate to return to pre-recession levels. Although the pace of job creation is improving, April and the rest of the year might not pull unemployment back its previous rate. 

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