A continued decline in initial claims for unemployment resulted in roughly 10,000 fewer than last week’s upwardly revised total of 524,000. For the fifth time now in six weeks, this figure has declined, beating the Thomson Reuters forecast by 2%, with the four-week average falling six times in a row to 531,500. The initial claims figure is incredibly important because it is a direct expression of lay-offs and the overall propensity within the labor market for hiring.

Several economic analysts have pegged the floor below 200,000 job losses for October, which would set a record for the year. However, the unemployment rate is at 9.8%, the highest in 26 years, and the labor market has lost 7.2 million jobs since December 07. Although initial claims paint a somewhat rosy picture, suggesting improvement, the labor market is still well below the 325,000 benchmark for initial claims, which is an historical indicator of