Last week?s number of initial unemployment benefit filings was the lowest since November. The number of claims dropped to 315,000, which was well below the median amount forecasted, 330,000, by 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The drop for three weeks straight seems to indicate that employers may pick up hiring once demand picks up and the weather has cleared. Higher fuel costs have already contributed to decreased demand for imports, and the Department of Commerce reports that retail sales grew in February by 0.6%. In addition to the decline in initial unemployment claims, the number of continuing unemployment claims dropped by 48,000 to 2.86 million Americans. Even as claims on jobless benefits decline, the unemployment rate grew in February from 6.6% to 6.7% as more people entered the labor market.
See "Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall to Lowest Level Since November", Shobhana Chandra, Business Week, March 13, 2014