US / Layoffs falls to pre-recession level but jobless claims edges 5,000 higher

A gauge of the trend in layoffs of American workers fell last week to its lowest since before the 2007-09 recession, a hopeful sign for the U.S. economy…

Now it appears that a long cycle of aggressive layoffs, which had fuelled a surge in unemployment and helped shape two presidential elections, is over.

Still, employers have appeared reticent to hire, and Thursday’s data still pointed to only modest economic growth. Last week, initial jobless claims edged 5,000 higher to 333,000, a little less than expected.

“The overall economy and the labour market are improving at a moderate pace,” said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at brokerage Sterne Agee & Leach in Chicago.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Gauge of U.S. layoffs falls to pre-recession level | Reuters.