The Department of Labor issued a weekly report Thursday morning that showed a significant decline in new claims for state unemployment benefits. Wall Street had expected a meager decline of 1,000 claims, but instead the figures fell by 12,000, the largest drop in over a month. Added to the latest figures for new job creation, showing the addition of 201,000 private-sector jobs in August, the economy is delivering a substantial gift to President Obama and the Democratic National Convention.
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As reported by Rachel Maddow, any time the number of new claims drops below 370,000, the figures can be interpreted as a time of quick job growth. The Department of Labor numbers have been below that threshold for only seven out of the last 22 weeks, but fully six of those have occurred within the last nine weeks.
According to the following graph, issued by Maddow, there has been a steady downward trend in new unemployment claims ever since stimulus spending from the administration’s Recovery Act began to flow in 2009. More jobs, fewer unemployment claims: The arithmetic is definitely coming out in President Obama’s favor as he takes the stage to accept his nomination.
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