Decent news on the jobs front:
WASHINGTON – The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply for the second straight week, suggesting the job market is slowly recovering.
The Labor Department says applications for benefits dropped 29,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 409,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose slightly to 439,000, the sixth straight increase.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I question the quality of the jobs. If you're a well-educated adult who was making upper-five-figures and you're currently working alongside teenagers at Walmart, it's difficult to call this a full blown recovery. But, then again, it was a deep, deep, deep Reaganomics-driven pit. So it'll take a while for to claw our way out. And that means many adults re-entering the work force from scratch.