"I think we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo Bank in Minneapolis.
The economy sank into a recession in March and while most analysts believe the US will rebound sometime next year, there are differing opinions about how strong the rebound will be and when exactly it will come.
Some analysts cautioned against getting too excited about the data released on Thursday, since unseasonably warm weather has likely been distorting some of the numbers and weekly and monthly figures often fluctuate widely.
"It's far too early to call a victory on the [jobless] claims front," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Bank One in Chicago. Swonk predicted jobless claims will rise in January, when temperatures are likely to turn colder and construction workers and others who usually lose their jobs in the winter months are likely to be given pink slips.
On a somber note, data in the weekly unemployment report suggested US workers who are laid off are having a tough time finding new jobs. The number of workers continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.7 million in the week ended Dec. 8, the period of most recent data. That was up from 3.6 million in the prior week.
Room for improvement
The increase in continuing claims led to a rise in the insured unemployment rate, a measurement of the portion of the workforce receiving jobless benefits. That rate was 2.9 percent in the Dec. 8 week, up 0.1 percent from the previous week.
Roughly 1.2 million Americans have lost their jobs since the US economic recession began in March, the majority of those losses coming since the Sept. 11 attacks. Economists watch employment trends closely since workers' job security is considered the key determinant of consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US consumer spending.
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