For the first time in four weeks, new unemployment claims dropped. The number of claims for last week dropped by 31,000 to 473,000. The drop comes after three weeks of record claims and fears of more layoffs. More people are receiving unemployment benefits since Congress renewed extended unemployment aid programs last month. The number of people receiving benefits is around 10.1 million. In the January to March period the economy grew by 3.7%, down from 5% in the fourth quarter of last year. Economists expect the government to lower the expected growth rate to below 2% for the April-June quarter.
See "New jobless claims drop for the first time in 4 weeks", Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2010