Jobless claims remain at four-year low, signal improvement

The overall job market has been improving since the summer, and weekly applications have been below 400,000 since late fall. 

The improvement could be a sign that hiring continued at a decent pace in February — in line with previous months of around 200,000. 

The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell to 7.5 million from 7.7 million for the week ended Feb. 4, the lowest level since August 2008. 

The economy added 243,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent in January but many forecasts remain cautious for the year, with most not expecting the jobless rate to drop below 8 percent this year. 

Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Analytics, said recently that unemployment could dip below 8 percent and he is expecting economists to release slightly improved predictions. 

“An unemployment rate below 8 percent by the end of 2012 and closer to 7 percent by the end of 2013 now appears possible.” he said at a recent hearing. 

There are plenty of signals that the economy is teetering on the edge of a more robust recovery — the housing market is churning out some its most consistent figures in years, manufacturers are expanding and consumer confidence is increasing. 

Still, there are grim facts about the job market as the nation’s economy chugs along — 12.8 million people are still unemployed and many have given up looking for work. The Labor Department only counts those who are seeking a job.  

The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits fell by 52,000 to 3.39 million for the week ended Feb. 11, a one-week lag from other data. The figure does not count workers receiving federal benefits. 

Workers who have used up their up to 26 weeks of state benefits and are collecting federal benefits also dropped — down 69,000 to 3.41 million in the week ended Feb. 4. 

All told, 48 states and territories had decreases in claims while five reported increases. 

States reported that 2.9 million people claimed federal emergency unemployment compensation, a decrease of 83,145 from the prior week for the week ended Feb. 4. 

There were nearly 3.7 million claiming benefits a year ago. 

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin during the week ending Feb. 4.