BETTER JOB PROSPECTS? – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  From Bloomberg:

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined last week to the lowest level since May 2008, pointing to a strengthening labor market.

Applications for unemployment benefits decreased by 20,000 to 368,000 in the week ended Feb. 26, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast claims would climb to 395,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The total number of people receiving unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since October 2008.

Among the reasons for increased optimism about the labor market in coming months has been a recent drop in initial claims, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told lawmakers this week. Companies added 200,000 jobs in February, while unemployment rose to 9.1 percent, economists project a Labor Department report to show tomorrow.

COMMENT:  Good news for the economy, and also for Barack Obama, as we move into the 2012 election cycle.  If unemployment starts to drop seriously, it will be a powerful boost for his reelection chances.

However, these figures are far from spectacular, and we would have to examine the trend over months.  Also, the information out today doesn't tell us what kind of jobs are being created, and at what level.  Ronald Reagan's classic question, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" still applies.  Many workers may be taking jobs at incomes below what they'd received before, which is not economic progress. 

The jury is still out.  But look to the mainstream media to spin economic news as favorably as they can, the better to help Obama cling to office.

March 3, 2011