Jobs Numbers

WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for a third straight week last week, but still remain too volatile to offer a clear signal on labor market conditions. Initial jobless claims dropped 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said on ...

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON -- U.S. employers stepped up hiring in October and the jobless rate ticked higher as more workers restarted job hunts, a hopeful sign for a lackluster economy that has dragged on President Barack Obama's re-election chances. Employers added 171,000 workers to their payrolls ...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Labor Department said on Monday that it intends to release the October employment report as scheduled on Friday despite disruption from Hurricane Sandy, delivering the final update on the country's battered jobs market before the Nov. 6 election. ...

WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, giving a clearer sign that the labor market is healing after wild fluctuations in claims data at the beginning of the month. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 23,000 to a seasonally ...

The number of U.S. job openings fell slightly in August, a troubling sign for a labor market that is recovering at a painfully slow pace. Job openings -- a measure of labor demand -- dropped to 3.56 million from 3.59 million in July, the Labor Department said on Wednesday in its monthly Job Openings and ...

It's 32 days before election day, and an embattled president receives news that could only bring him joy. For the first time since Barack Obama's first month in office, the national unemployment rate has dropped below 8 percent, to a September tally of 7.8 percent. "Well, isn't that convenient?" in effect ...

WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, according government data on Thursday that suggested a mild improvement in the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, ...

Many Americans -- especially those in the job market -- have been whipsawed in recent weeks in trying to determine just in which direction the economy is heading. Today's employment report did little to ease that back and forth, with the Labor Department reporting that the nation's employers added just 115,000 ...